Wrong-Way Accident Causes Closure of I-84

A pickup truck and a semi-truck were involved in a wrong-way collision on I-84 in the Hudson Valley, resulting in the freeway needing to be closed.

According to police, the accident occurred in Maybrook at the I-84 exit 28 east off ramp, just after 11 p.m. on Friday, September 26. State police and firefighters arrived to the scene as multiple people had to be extricated from their vehicles after the head-on crash.

Initial reports indicated one or more people were killed and at least two were seriously hurt. Both he exit and entrance ramps had to be shut down for most of the overnight hours.

Wrong-way accidents often result in serious injuries and fatalities

The very nature of wrong-way accidents makes them extremely dangerous, as they typically result in head-on collisions at potentially high speeds. When they occur on a separated highway, this is typically the result of a driver entering the freeway on an offramp instead of an onramp.

There are some circumstances in which improper signage or poor street planning can be to blame for these types of accidents, but in many cases it is simply driver error or potential influence of substances that is to blame.

All drivers are expected to obey posted signage and to enter the freeway from the proper ramp to prevent such accidents from occurring.

The physics of head-on collisions makes them especially dangerous, and they result in much greater vehicle damage than other types of accidents, as well as a greater potential for severe injury or death.

For more information about how to proceed with a personal injury claim after being injured in an accident caused by a wrong-way driver, contact an experienced auto accident lawyer at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia LLP.