A Fedex truck stayed empty on the Long Island Expressway for hours, parked near a Nassau County Police Homicide van, while investigators worked late into the night to find clues in a fatal collision that stopped down the LIE for hours.
According to a person familiar with the inquiry, investigators are still looking for parts and pieces of the victim’s corpse that were dispersed over the roadway as a result of the unfortunate, fatal accident.
Nassau County’s Homicide Unit issued a formal press release on Monday morning, announcing that a man was killed by a Federal Express delivery vehicle as he walked on the LIE near Exit 40 — by Home Depot — closing the eastbound side of the LIE.
But an official traffic alert posted by police said the LIE was closed at Exit 40. In fact, on Sunday, traffic on that side of the highway was halted at Exit 39 on Glen Cove Road, shutting down all traffic there.
A major traffic gridlock ensued, with automobiles and trucks backed up for miles along the Long Island Expressway Service Road via Westbury and Jericho.
Access to the LIE was restored at Exit 41, the Route 107 exit.
Nobody could explain why a pedestrian was walking on the highway. Police have not said whether a vehicle was discovered abandoned along that stretch of the highway, a possible explanation for a motorist who ran out of gas or had a mechanical problem with his car.
The inquiry extended more than a mile, and investigators spent hours searching for the victim’s body.
A Crime Scene vehicle and detectives were stationed at the accident site, where the guy was struck around 2:45pm, according to police.
According to the press announcement, a police medic pronounced him deceased on the site.
The pedestrian’s name has not yet been disclosed. He was 33 years old, according to a press announcement.
Police have yet to identify the 28-year-old Federal Express delivery driver.
Police say the inquiry is “ongoing.” The LIE reopened late last night.