Crime & Safety

250 Crashes in Suffolk After Slick Roads Have Police, Emergency Crews Scrambling

Stony Brook Hospital calls in extra docs to handle uptick in accidents due to icy roads.

Police and emergency crews were jammed Friday as slick road conditions caused a high volume of car crashes, falls and emergencies.

Suffolk County police said they responded to about 250 car crashes between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday and about 300 calls for injured people, such as people who had fallen.

Police issued an advisory earlier on Friday warning drivers of the hazardous road conditions due to the freezing rain. Brookhaven Town officials sent out truck sanders and salters to area roads to combat the slick roads. 

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Huntington Hospital said that about 60 percent of visits to the emergency room Friday afternoon were weather-related, caused by car accidents or falling on slippery pavement.

Stony Brook University Medical Center said extra doctors were called in to handle the swell of patients that came into their emergency room. A media relations spokeswoman for the hospital said they saw 40-50 cases related to the icy conditions-everything from car accidents to slip and falls.

Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ambulance service crews were so busy in East Hampton they issued a statement to personnel saying first responder vehicles could be used to transport stable patients and that crews should be prepared for “increased turnaround times due to extreme over crowding at hospitals.”

Ambulance crews in Sayville said their call volume doubled within only a few hours.

The Community Ambulance Company had 21 calls for help handled by 3 p.m., 15 of those for weather related injuries.

"We called in additional crews to cover the increased call volume. I am proud to report that every call received was answered in a timely matter by our members," said Department Chief Chris Gonzales.

More rain is expected tomorrow with temps in the mid 50's.


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