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Fire on the BQE: Blazing crash snarls traffic for hours

Fire on the BQE: Blazing crash snarls traffic for hours
Photo by Paul Martinka

A fire erupted on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Gowanus after a tractor-trailer driver collided with a car on Friday afternoon.

The drivers crashed around noon near the Hamilton Avenue exit, sending smoke billowing over the thoroughfare as firefighters battled the blaze.

Three people were injured in the ordeal, according to a spokesman for New York’s Bravest. Two were treated at the scene and one was taken away in an ambulance, he said.

Pedestrians watched the scene unfold on walkways above the expressway, catching a front row view of three lanes of cars that were backed up hours, sending spillover traffic onto surrounding streets and snarling travel throughout the neighborhood.

Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill
To the rescue: Firefighters battled the blaze.
Photo by Paul Martinka