A 145-mile-an-hour drag race on the Long Island Expressway Thursday morning abruptly ended when one of the drivers lost control of his car and slammed into a gas pump, setting an Islandia gas station on fire.
Miraculously, only one person was injured in the 12:30 a.m. crash. One of the men involved was treated for a concussion.
A red Dodge Neon, crashed into the Gulf Station and the second car, a yellow 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, slammed into the fence of a nearby Hooters restaurant.
A gas station worker witnessed three men running from the car, only seconds before it exploded.
“They are very lucky no one was killed,” said Suffolk County Chief Michael Sharkey.
Jeffrey Browne, 21, from Bohemia, and Joseph Skarka, 20, from Central Islip, were arrested for speeding and evading police.
Skarka was driving the Dodge Neon that crashed into the gas-station pump.
