Head-on crash with tractor trailer kills 2 in fatal accident

How do three off-duty police officers and a friend manage to let their vehicle enter a New York highway going in the wrong direction? That is the question that is pressing on the Linden Police and the many friends and family of the four men. After entering the highway, they crashed with a tractor trailer in a horrifyingly fatal accident that killed one police officer and another passenger in the vehicle.

The officer driving the car is a 27-year-old male who is a six-year veteran of the force. At last report, he was in critical condition at the Richmond University Medical Center. The other officer who survived is a 23-year-old male who was reportedly in critical condition at a Staten Island hospital.

According to the NYPD, the four men were at a strip club prior to the crash, which occurred at 5 a.m. The fatal crash took place while their vehicle was headed northbound in the southbound lanes of the West Shore Expressway. Although the evidence and facts currently surfacing indicate that the men were drinking at the club, the police are not rushing to judgment and have reported that they are interviewing witnesses and continuing to investigate. In that connection, the truck driver was tested and found not impaired.

At about 11 p.m. an Instagram from the driver showed a picture of apparent hard liquor shots and a caption indicating the shots were on the house. With or without evidence of DUI, the critically injured passenger, and the families of the two decedents, all have damages actions for negligence under New York law against the car driver in this fatal accident. It is unlikely that the driver has sufficient auto liability insurance to adequately compensate all of the victims. The families of the victims will be well advised to start accumulating all of the information on the amounts of underinsured motorists coverage available on their own policies.

Source: nj.com, “Linden police officer, resident killed in Staten Island crash identified“, Jessica Remo, March 20, 2015