NEW YORK (AP) — Three people were killed and nine others were injured early Wednesday in a collision on a major Long Island highway where just 10 days earlier six other people died in a horrific crash.

Wednesday's chain-reaction wreck involved six vehicles on the Long Island Expressway in the borough's Maspeth section.

Two vehicles collided around 4:20 a.m. and were then slammed by the other vehicles. A truck and a taxi were among the vehicles involved in the crash, police said.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene and nine others were taken to a hospital, one with serious injuries, fire officials said. The other injuries were non-life-threatening.

The accident closed the eastbound side of the lower level of the highway and backed up traffic to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

On Aug. 21, another crash on the expressway, near Manorville, Long Island, claimed six lives.

Among those killed was Scott Martella, 29, of Northport, a communications director for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Police said Carmelo Pinales, 26, of Hicksville, apparently lost control of his vehicle, which crossed over the grassy median, went airborne and struck two vehicles, a BMW and a Honda, that were traveling westbound.

Pinales and his 27-year-old sister, Patricia Pinales, of Westbury, died at the scene. His 10-year-old son, Cristopher, was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Two others in that vehicle, including Patricia's 3-year-old daughter, were injured. A couple in another vehicle later died of their injuries.