3 dead, 10 injured on Long Island Expressway

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Three people are dead and nine injured-- including two critically-- in a multi-vehicle crash on the Long Island Expressway near Maurice Ave. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

Three people were killed and 10 injured -- including two critically -- in a multi-vehicle crash on the Long Island Expressway near Maurice Avenue in Maspeth, Queens.

Police said Michael Fabre, 25, of Oakland Gardens, New York, Giovanny Sanchez, 24, Brentwood, New York, and Christina Formato, 24, Franklin Square, New York, were killed when the 2010 Infinity sedan they were in collided with a barrier and split in half. The NYPD said the front half of the car landed in the left lane of the east-bound lower roadway where a 2012 Acura TL crashed into it.

While a definitive cause of the crash had not been announced, there were unconfirmed reports that drag racing was involved.

The deadly chain-reaction involved six vehicles and occurred at about 4:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes.

Four of the injured were rushed to Elmhurst Hospital.

"This area in general is very dangerous. A lot of people are speeding on and speeding off of the highway in this two-block area. There have been other fatalities. What is it going to take before some type of measures are taken?" a local resident told FOX 5 News.

The lower level of the LIE was closed near Maurice Avenue for nearly four hours as a police investigation was conducted and as sanitation crews cleared up debris from the mangled vehicles.

Extensive traffic delays in the area and on the Queens-bound Brooklyn Queens Expressway continued hours after the crash.