Story  & photos by  Ex Captain Steven Grogan 

On Friday, July 30, 2010, at approximately 8:40 AM, an SUV collided with a school bus at the intersection of Scranton Avenue and Reyam Road in Lynbrook.  The accident caused the SUV to overturn. 

When responding Lynbrook police officers arrived on the scene they found the SUV on its side and partially on the curb.  The vehicle was in danger of completely rolling over on its top.  The female driver was found lying on the bottom of the vehicle and trapped inside. 

The Lynbrook Fire Department’s Extrication Team arrived on the scene, under the direction of First Deputy Chief Mike Hynes, and immediately braced the vehicle from rolling over.   Also, Tally-Ho Engine 423 was dispatched to the scene.  They provided hose protection to the trapped driver.   Meantime, the Emergency Services Unit of the Nassau County Police Department arrived on the scene with two units.  One unit was used immediately to chain the SUV so that it would not tip over while the firefighters and police officers were working. 

Once the vehicle was secured from tipping, Lynbrook Ex-Chief James Hillgardner climbed through the back door and went to the aid of the driver who was wearing her seat belt and was nearly hanging upside down.  The first thing he did was to calm the driver down and assure her that she was okay and would soon be removed from the vehicle.  Besides hanging upside down the driver’s legs were wedged under the steering wheel and her neck was pinned between the door and headrest.  Ex-Chief Hillgardner was able to move her head and place a collar around her neck with the assistance of Lynbrook Emergency Medical Company’s Lynn Curtis who was outside the vehicle.  The Ex-Chief also covered the driver’s body with his own as the firefighters and the ESU officers worked together to remove the roof with cutting tools. 

With the roof finally cut off, firefighters and police officers were able to free the driver’s legs, release her seat belt, and get her on a stretcher where she was treated and stabilized by Nassau County EMS workers also on the scene.  She was then taken in a Nassau County police ambulance to the hospital. 

No children on the bus were injured in the accident and the bus sustained only minimal damage.  The SUV was totaled.