Two Overturned Trucks Block Access To TZ Bridge

SOUTH NYACK - An accident involving two overturned trucks at the approach to the Tappan Zee Bridge in Rockland County brought southbound traffic on the New York State Thruway to a standstill this afternoon - also affecting traffic in Westchester.

State Department of Transportation and Thruway officials at 4 p.m. thought the accident scene could take another four hours to clear. As a result, southbound entrances to the Thruway in Rockland were being closed.

Witnesses say the two trucks were traveling near each other as they approached the area of South Broadway in South Nyack around 2:30 p.m. when they apparently tried to avoid each other and overturned.

One truck, a tractor trailer, overturned in the right lane at the foot of a South Nyack overpass while the other truck overturned about 50 yards closer to the bridge in the left lane. South Nyack police and state troopers responded to the accident along with Nyack Fire Department volunteers and members of the Nyack Community Ambulance Corps.

The drivers of both trucks had to be pulled from their rigs, but witnesses said it did not take emergency workers long to free the men from the trucks and one of the drivers could be seen walking near his rig shortly after being pulled out.

As emergency workers awaited heavy lift tow rigs to help clear the trucks, firefighters worked to clean up a small fuel spill.

Witnesses said the accident sounded like several bombs going off, but there was no fire from the accident.

Police were able to start moving some traffic through the scene of the wreck by about 3 p.m. There was no spill of cargo from the trucks.

Westbound traffic coming across the Tappan Zee Bridge from Westchester was trickling through the scene of the accident - although there was no wreckage or related accident in the westbound lanes.

The identity of the drivers or the owners of the trucks were not immediately available. The accident took place just a block from  South Nyack Village Hall, 282 South Broadway.