What Happened
A moderate crash closed the center lane of the eastbound Long Island Expressway (I-495) in Nassau County on Friday, August 7, 2026. The incident disrupted traffic flow along one of the most heavily traveled stretches of roadway on Long Island. Officials have not yet confirmed the number of vehicles involved, a specific milepost or exit location, the time of the collision, or the nature and extent of any injuries.
The lane impact — specifically the center lane of the eastbound carriageway — indicates a collision significant enough to require emergency responder staging within the traveled roadway, consistent with a moderate-severity incident. Police have not yet released further details on what caused the crash or whether any charges are anticipated.
Location & Road Context
The Long Island Expressway is Long Island’s primary east-west artery, stretching from the Queens–Nassau border to Riverhead in Suffolk County. The Nassau County segment is among the corridor’s most congested, with commuter, commercial, and through traffic all competing for lanes during peak periods. According to Long Island Traffic’s incident database, I-495 has accumulated 2,135 recorded incidents, and Nassau County alone accounts for 1,013 recorded accidents in our local tracking system — underscoring the persistent safety challenges along this route.
A separate NYSDOT travel advisory was already in effect on August 7, 2026, for overnight eastbound LIE closures in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay — meaning the Nassau County segment of I-495 was already under elevated operational stress on the same day as this crash.