Four-Car Accident Clogs Plaza Road at Rush Hour

A four-car accident at the intersection of Plaza Road and Berdan Avenue just after 5 p.m. Friday snarled traffic and briefly closed the Route 208 on-ramp, but resulted in no serious injuries, said.

Fair Lawn resident Freeman Miller said he was heading home from work driving south on Plaza Road when an Acura coming the opposite direction on Plaza tried to make a quick left turn in front of him at the Berdan Avenue intersection. Miller didn't see the car and plowed into it.

"One guy made a left turn and the guy that I hit tried to sneak in behind him to make the left turn before I got into the intersection, but he couldn't make it," Miller, 73, said. "Before I knew it, I was on top of him...He was hidden behind the first car."

The collision started a chain reaction with the Acura being bounced back into a Honda Pilot that was waiting at the light on Berdan in front of the building, which in turn was driven back into a pick-up truck waiting behind it.

Three of the four cars were towed from the scene.

The ramp to-and-from Route 208 was closed temporarily until the accident scene was cleared, and the  cleaned up an antifreeze spill at the scene using Speedy Dry, police said.

The ambulance corps responded and checked crash victims on the scene, but all declined a trip to the hospital. Lt. Derek Bastinck said the fact that all involved were wearing seatbelts likely spared them from serious injury.

Miller, who had his arm bandaged and his hand wrapped in gauze afterwards, said he was treated at the scene for a minor cut and what might be a broken hand. 

"We're going to take a ride over [to the emergency room] and get it x-rayed," he said. "It's starting to turn purple."

Miller said his car, a white 1999 Mercury Tracer, was totaled as a result of the accident.

The crash is still under investigation, police said.

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