Crime & Safety

Officials Clear Scene of Multi-Car Crash

The accident occurred around 7:30 a.m.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 84 at Exit 20 were reopened around 9:45 a.m. Friday after a tractor-trailer and four vehicles collided.

(BFD) Chief Dave O'Hara said that five people — four of whom were drivers and one passenger — were transported to with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer refused medical attention, according to O'Hara.

Fire officials could not comment Friday morning on what caused the accident, citing an ongoing police investigation, but said that the vehicles were spread across the interstate.

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A van sat on one side of the road, flush up against a mid-size, four-door vehicle it had pushed in the same direction during the accident, O'Hara told Patch. That vehicle was sitting over the embankment, wedged between a guy-wire and the driver's side of the van, forcing emergency responders to cut off the roof and extricate the driver. O'Hara estimated that the rescue took between 12 and 15 minutes.

The tractor-trailer remained standing in the roadway with front-end damage. The two other vehicles were in the median between eastbound and westbound lanes, O'Hara said.

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Troopers from the New York State Police of the East Fishkill barracks, who reportedly took the lead on the accident, were unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.

The New York State Department of Transportation called for lane closures to last up to four hours following the accident, but emergency responders — including officials from Croton Falls, North Salem, Putnam Lake and Lake Carmel agencies, as well as Putnam County Emergency Services — cleared the area within approximately two hours.

According to O'Hara, approximately 20 BFD volunteers were present.


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