Woodbury (Orange)- Fatal Truck Accident 03-13-07

[Truck4 48]

Date: 03-13-07

Time: 0230hrs

Location: NYS Thruway northbound, south of Exit 16

Units Operating: Tuxedo FD, Woodbury FD; NYSP; NYS DEC

Description Of Incident: (2) Tractor trailers in MVA with (1) fully involved. (2) drivers killed, including (1) that was parked on the shoulder and outside his rig at the time.

Writer: Truck4

From The Journal News 3/14:

The Accident occurred 2:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the Thruway, three miles south of Exit 16.

State police said autopsy reports might help them piece together the moments before the fatal crash, which also seriously damaged two tractor-trailers and stopped traffic on the Thruway's northbound lanes for nine hours.

So far police have determined that John Johnson, 27, of Baltimore was driving a tractor-trailer north on the Thruway just after 2 a.m. when he hit a guardrail, swerved to regain control and then slammed into a tractor-trailer parked on the right shoulder.

The collision caused the parked tractor-trailer's rear wheels to run over Gary Akehurst, 57, of Fallston, Md., who had gotten out of the truck, police said.

Johnson's tractor-trailer skidded to the left and then burst into flames just below the Arden Station Road bridge over the Thruway, police said.

Both men died at the crasah scene. Their bodies were taken to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital for autopsies.

"We have absolutely no idea what caused it," said Zone Sgt. James Whittel of the state police, who was at the scene of the accident. "We are hoping the autopsy will give us a little more information."

Whittel said the autopsy could show whether Johnson suffered a heart attack or dozed off when the accident occurred. Routine blood-alcohol tests would be performed, Whittel said, but he didn't expect anything unusual to show up.

Whittel said reputable trucking companies frequently perform random drug and alcohol tests on their employees, and he expected such was the case with New England Motor Freight.

"We'll only be able to rule things out. We won't be able to say what caused it," Whittel said.

Maryland state police and Baltimore police informed the families of the victims at noon yesterday. Further details about the victims were unavailable.

Autopsy results were not expected for a while, Whittel said. The probe into the crash is being carried out by Investigator Ricky Peets from the state police at New burgh.

New York State Police blocked the northbound lanes to allow the tractor-trailers to be cleared and for the state Department of Environmental Conservation to clear hazardous material. One tractor-trailer was carrying home improvement material, some of which was hazardous.