What Happened
A minor crash blocked the right shoulder of the westbound Long Island Expressway HOV lane in Nassau County on Friday, August 21, 2026. No serious injuries were reported in the initial incident record. Details on the vehicles involved, the number of occupants, and the precise cause of the crash were not included in the initial report.
The right shoulder remained blocked as of the time of filing. Westbound HOV lane traffic faced restricted movement at the scene.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on the westbound I-495 HOV lane in Nassau County. The HOV lane runs along one of the most heavily traveled freight and commuter corridors on Long Island, and incidents along it routinely affect westbound flow into Queens. Nassau County’s incident database shows 1,094 recorded accidents in the county so far in 2026.
According to Long Island Traffic’s incident registry, the I-495 HOV lane corridor has logged 113 incidents in the past 30 days and 397 in 2026 to date. The most recent prior fatal crash on the corridor dates to August 11, 2026 — details at that incident report. Friday also brought a separate minor crash on I-495 and a minor crash on the Southern State Parkway, both in Nassau County.