An overturned U.S. Postal Service truck in the Village of Kensington forced the closing of East Shore Road early Sunday morning, which was then extended to more than 24 hours after a contractor hit and ruptured a gas main at the scene.
Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company Chief Josh Forst said a contractor from Welsbach Electric of Long Island struck the gas main while attempting to put up a street light knocked down during the accident and ruptured a gas main.
“It was an indirect result of the accident,” Forst said. “When they went to put the light back up they were digging into the ground to put it in and they hit a gas main.”
Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department Captain Lee Genser said the truck overturned on East Shore Road around 8:20 a.m., closing the roadway from Vista Hill Road to Grace Avenue.
Genser said the cause of the accident was unknown and the driver of the truck refused medical attention on the scene.
The accident caused a diesel fuel leak from the truck’s saddle tank, Genser said, which the Great Neck Vigilant and Manhasset-Lakeville fire departments contained until the arrival of the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office Hazardous Materials Division.
Genser said they left the scene around 9 a.m.
At around 7:25 p.m., Forst said, the Vigilant Fire Company was called in again for the gas main rupture.
“The contractor called to find out where the gas mains were,” he said. “I guess he didn’t wait and he guessed wrong. They hit the gas main which was probably releasing gas for about five hours.”
Forst added that firefighters secured the area until the arrival of National Grid.
He also said he was there until around 12:30 a.m., when National Grid was able to shut off the gas main.
East Shore Road remained closed until Monday morning as the streetlight needed to be put up and the street repaired.
