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1 Dead, 2 Hurt After Coach USA Bus, Pickup Truck Collide On Long Island

ALBERTSON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- One person was killed and two others seriously injured when a bus and pickup truck collided Tuesday morning on Long Island.

The accident, which involved a Coach USA bus carrying one passenger and a 2006 Dodge truck, occurred around 9 a.m. on Roslyn Road near Heathcote Drive in Albertson.

1 Dead, 2 Hurt After Coach USA Bus, Pick-Up Truck Collide On Long Island

It appears the pickup truck lost control, drifted into oncoming traffic and struck the bus nearly head-on, said Nassau County Police Inspector Kenneth Lack. The bus then crashed into a tree.

Albertson Bus Crash
The scene of an accident involving a pick-up truck and Coach USA bus in Albertson, L.I. on April 1, 2014. (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)

Witnesses told police the truck was speeding, Lack said.

1 Dead, 2 Hurt After Coach USA Bus, Pick-Up Truck Collide On Long Island

The driver of the pickup truck died at the scene. Police are working to determine if he was drunk, drugged, or texting at the time of the crash.

Emergency workers climbed through shattered windshields and used every tool in their arsenal to tear away the mangled steel to save two men aboard the bus, CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported. The bus driver and passenger suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital, officials said. The bus was traveling from New York City to Patchogue.

Residents said they know all too well the dangers on the stretch of the north-south road where the fatal collision occurred.

"Roslyn Road, it narrows down in spots, it curves in spots," one man told McLogan.

"There's no defense about somebody that's going to pull out and speed at 80 miles an hour," homeowner Lou Baldasaro added.

In past months, CBS 2 has covered deadly accidents on Roslyn Road as cars race through North Shore neighborhoods toward the Long Island Expressway.

"Cars come through here like a speedway and I'm so afraid that they're going to come through the house," Baldasaro said.

Lou and Diane Baldasaro have lived on Roslyn Road for 47 years and are now joining a petition movement to enforce the 30 mph speed limit through their community.

"25 blocks and there's not one stop sign, there's not one light," Diane Baldasaro told McLogan.

Residents said the deadly crash highlights the need for a law enforcement crackdown and their campaign for zero tolerance against speeders on Roslyn Road.

A Coach USA spokesperson said company officials are at the scene gathering information and said safety remains the bus line's top priority.

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