The accident happened just after 4 a.m. when five cars collided on the eastbound lane near Exit 18 at Maurice Avenue, authorities said.
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“I heard a bam and then another bam”, one man said.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. One person was initially in critical condition, but police said all 11 people injured are now in stable condition.
The two critically injured victims were rushed to Elmhurst Hospital, including a woman who was in cardiac arrest, WNBC reported.
All Queens-bound lanes of the Long Island Expressway lower level are closed near Maurice Avenue in Queens.
The Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the connection from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the LIE also was shut down. Speed is being investigated as a cause of the first crash.
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Traffic wasn’t significantly affected by the closures, although rubbernecker delays were beginning to build in the westbound lanes.
