Police: Drunk driver struck troopers
NORTH GREENBUSH, N.Y. » Two troopers were seriously injured in an early morning incident Sunday on Interstate 90 in town of North Greenbush.
The troopers, Brent Karow and Shane Swartz, were on the scene at a single vehicle property damage crash on Interstate-90 eastbound near Exit 8 in the town of North Greenbush when they were struck from behind and suffered serious injury, according to New York State Police, which held a press conference detailing the incident on Sunday afternoon at the New York State Police Troop G Headquarters in Latham.
Troopers Karow and Swartz were dispatched at 4 a.m. and responded in the same fully marked patrol vehicle to a report of a single vehicle incident in the median eastbound at milepost market 7.7 on Interstate-90 in the town of North Greenbush.
At 4:21 a.m. they called out to dispatch that they were on scene and shortly thereafter requested a tow truck to remove a 2011 Subaru from the median along the highway. The tow truck arrived at the scene with two tow operators to assist in removing the vehicle from the median.
At the scene, the responding troopers had employed flares along with emergency lighting. The scene was flared off in a pattern which closed the left lane of three lanes of the highway and emergency lightning of the patrol vehicle and tow truck were active.
At approximately 5:15 a.m. a separate vehicle travelling eastbound at that location struck both troopers, police said
Minutes later Rensselaer County 911 began receiving multiple calls regarding a crash involving a police vehicle on Interstate 90. State police dispatch was unable to contact the troopers and other units were sent to the scene to check on them.
The town of North Greenbush Police Department immediately responded and were the first on the scene. Other assisting State Police units began arriving on scene within minutes, along with multiple EMS and fire
units.
Responders found the injured troopers and tow truck operators.
Investigation determined that a 2010 Mercury sedan operated by Christopher Neumann, 26, of Castleton, failed to move to the right and collided with the patrol vehicle, police said. After striking the Troop car, Neumann’s vehicle continued and struck both troopers and tow truck operator Jeffery Waite Sr., police said.
Trooper Karow was thrown approximately 70 feet into the median. He suffered multiple. lacerations, fractures and internal injuries and is listed in serious but stable condition after surgery to control internal bleeding, police said. He was in the intensive care unit on Sunday afternoon. Karow, 34, is a six-year veteran of the state police who works out of Guilderland.
Trooper Swartz was thrown and trapped underneath the tow truck. He suffered multiple lacerations, fractures and internal injuries and on Sunday afternoonwas listed in serious but
stable condition, police said. At that time he was undergoing an aniticipated six to seven-hour surgery. Swartz, also 34, is a four-year veteran of the state police whoworks out of Brunswick.
Both tow truck operators were injured too. Waite was also struck by the vehicle and suffered a laceration to his head, and the other tow truck operator was hit by flying debris.
Neumann was injured in the crash as well, suffering a laceration on his face and other minor injuries.
Both Troopers, Waite and Neumann were transported to Albany Medical Center.
Further investigation resulted in the arrest of Neumann for first-degree vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated, and numerous other vehicle and traffic law violations, police said. On Sunday afternoon, after being treated and released, he was in state police custody.
Neumann was arraigned at the Town Court. He was sent to the Rensselaer County Jail with no bail and is scheduled to return on March 9 at 2 p.m.