New York State Police arrested a truck driver in Marathon NY on Interstate 81 on Aug. 8 after he was allegedly high on crystal meth and crashed into another tractor trailer. 

The allegedly impaired trucker was charged with second-degree vehicular assault, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, second-degree reckless endangerment and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He was driving his tractor trailer on I-81 north at 6 AM when he drifted off the road through a median and entered the southbound lanes and slammed into another rig. The driver of that truck was taken to a hospital in Johnson City NY where he was treated for injuries that were not considered life threatening.

A police investigation determined that the first truck driver was found to be impaired by drugs during the wreck. They also found a gram of crystal methamphetamine in his pocket.

Our View

Tractor trailer drivers have a higher obligation to drive safely, given that they possess a commercial driver’s license, and also because they are driving such large, heavy vehicles. Our truck accident attorneys in Virginia and North Carolina hope that the New York authorities throw the legal book at this truck driver. It is outrageous for any truck driver to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drug while driving.

The injured truck driver and his family should know that the other trucker and his company can most likely be sued for a large financial settlement to pay for the innocent man’s medical bills, pain and suffering and lost wages.  Punitive damages might apply in this case as well, if the trucker was high during the crash. The victim deserves compensation for this reckless crash, and the offending driver should be severely punished with severe consequences – both criminal and financial.