New York State Police reported March 1 that a tractor trailer driver in Marathon, New York was impaired by crystal methamphetamine when he crashed into another big rig on I-81. 

The truck driver was found with a gram of crystal meth after the wreck that occurred after 6 am on the southbound I-81 lanes near Marathon, New York.

New York State troopers investigated the wreck and determined that the 36 year old male truck driver was impaired on drugs when he drifted off the highway and through the median. He drove into the southbound lanes and hit another truck. Both trucks stopped in the southbound lanes and blocked traffic for several hours as the police investigated the tractor trailer crash.

The driver of the second truck was transported to UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, New York for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

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

Our View

As tractor trailer crash attorneys licensed in Virginia and North Carolina, we see many cases where truck drivers were high or drunk and cause serious personal injury or death. 

These serious truck accidents are far too common. A recent study determined that truck drivers frequently put their own safety and health and that of others at risk by taking drugs and other stimulants to get through a long night behind the wheel.

One of the most dangerous tendencies among some truck drivers is to take crystal meth, amphetaimines or even cocaine to stay awake. But taking these illegal drugs while driving is extremely dangerous as they can cause agitation, vertigo, hallucinations and change perceptions and reactions.

The study found that half of the truck drivers that were questioned admitted to drinking and driving in a big rig, and 30% admitted they had used amphetamines to stay awake.

Truck drivers must obey federal law on how long that they can drive. There is no excuse to fall asleep behind the wheel or to take illegal drugs to stay awake. Our personal injury attorneys in Virginia Beach handled a truck crash case where the truck driver fell asleep and smashed into our client’s small car at 45 MPH.

This led to a very serious wreck that caused serious brain damage to the children in the back seat of the car. That serious truck crash accident case settled for $5.5 million. But truck drivers must obey the law regarding limits on hours of service, and if they take any illegal drugs to stay awake, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.