Jitney, Garbage Truck Collide in Southampton

Two were sent to the hospital after a Hampton Jitney and a garbage truck collided on County Road 39A Monday morning in an accident that closed down a stretch of the busy road for nearly five hours, according to police.

Police said the accident was reported at 4:37 a.m.; it took hours to wrap up the investigation at the scene and clear the roadway so traffic could resume passing through.

This is the second accident in less than a week involving a Hampton Jitney that caused major traffic delays on County Road 39. Last Thursday, a 29-year-old Shirley woman died when her SUV struck a Jitney head on. The road was closed for several hours, causing traffic jams all over the East End, and some motorists tried to go through the North Fork and Shelter Island to get to the South Fork.

Det. Sgt. Lisa Costa  said the bus was making a left out of the Hampton Jitney station on the north side of County Road 39A to head east, when it collided with a truck heading west. There are skid marks in the road from the westbound lane to the eastbound lane where they both came to a stop.

The man driving the garbage truck was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, and the driver of the jitney was taken to Southampton Hospital with minor injuries, police said. Besides the driver the bus was unoccupied, police said.

Costa said there is an investigation any time a commercial vehicle involved in a crash. The jitney has been moved off road to behind the Hampton Jitney building, where it will be lifted up and a motor carrier unit will take measurements.

The truck is being towed and the motor carrier unit will take measurements elsewhere.

Cliff Savage, the manager for Jet Line products on County Road 39 near the accident site, was standing out in front of the business because he had no customers due to the closed road.

"They've got to do something about this road. Two accidents in a week?," he said. "I see people doing 70. There's nobody enforcing the speed limit."
 
Update by Brendan J. O'Reilly with reporting by Taylor K. Vecsey.

Previously

Another accident involving a Hampton Jitney closed County Road 39A in Southampton Monday morning, the second such accident in less than one week.

A jitney and a garbage truck collided in front of the Hampton Jitney building  Monday morning at around 5 a.m.

The road is closed between Majors Path and David White's Lane.

One person was reportedly airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital.

Just before 7 a.m., a tow truck arrived to clear the bus and garbage truck, but rush hour, eastbound traffic was already reportedly backed up.

The Southampton Town police are taking accident measurements. Suffolk County Highway Patrol units were also on scene.

Just Thursday, a woman was killed when her car struck a jitney further west on County Road 39, near St. Andrew's Road. The road was closed for several hours, causing traffic jams all over the East End, as some people tried to go through the North Fork and Shelter Island to get to the South Fork.

Cliff Savage, manager for Jet Line products on County Road 39 near the accident site, was standing out in front of the building because he had no customers because of the closed road.

"They've got to do something about this road. Two accidents in a week?," he said. "I see people doing 70. There's no body enforcing the speed limit."