Driver Escapes Serious Injury as Garbage Truck Flips

The driver of a garbage truck that flipped on its side Friday afternoon on Montauk Highway on Napeague escaped with what appeared to be minor injuries. According to witnesses, the green-and-white truck owned by Mickey's Carting of Montauk, may have lost a tire before overturning and skidding to a stop partly on the shoulder of Montauk Highway near the Clam Bar restaurant.

The driver, identified as Julio, climbed out of the passenger-side window of his truck and was able to speak to a member of the Clam Bar staff, they said.

Patrons of the restaurant heard the noise of the impact as the eastbound truck slid past them and leapt from their tables.

Firefighters and ambulance personnel from the Amagansett Fire Department responded to the scene. The driver was taken to Southampton Hospital to be examined.

Police kept one lane closed as a payloader was brought in to lift the garbage truck off its side. On a busy pre-weekend afternoon, traffic was backed up in both directions, with the eastbound delays being the longest.

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An earlier version of this story said incorrectly that East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson and Town Police Chief Edward Ecker were among those eating at the Clam Bar at the time of the accident. They were passing by in a vehicle and stopped to check on the accident.