Crime & Safety

Wrong-Way Driver, 87, Forces Multiple Cars Off Taconic Parkway, Crashes

Despite crashes, no one was injured.

An 87-year-old Mohegan Lake man got onto the Taconic State Parkway headed the wrong way on Monday afternoon, forced several cars off the highway and then crashed into a guide rail, according to State Police.     

At about 2:30 p.m., New York state troopers from the Stormville barracks were alerted to multiple Putnam County 911 calls reporting an elderly driver driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the Taconic in the Town of Putnam Valley. 

The driver, 87 year-old Carmine L. Labiola of Mohegan Lake, crashed into a guide rail with his 1996 Nissan Altima after forcing several southbound cars off the roadway and sideswiping a sport-utility vehicle. 

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However, there were no injuries during the incident. 

A State Police investigation indicated that Labiola had entered the southbound roadway of the Taconic State Parkway at Pudding Street. He drove north for about three miles against the flow of traffic before the collisions at the parkway's interchange with State Route 301 in the Town of Kent. 

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When questioned by state troopers, Labiola appeared to be disoriented. He was taken to Putnam Hospital by the Putnam Valley Fire Department Rescue Squad for a medical evaluation. State Police said there was no evidence that Labiola had consumed alcoholic beverages prior to the incident or that he was impaired by drug use.  

Labliola was issued several tickets as a result of the crash investigation, including driving the wrong way on a controlled-access highway. In addition, his driving privileges will be reviewed by the New York State Depatment of Motor Vehicles and possible administrative action taken by that agency as a result of his wrong-way driving incident.

One southbound lane of the Taconic State Parkway in the area of State Route 301 was closed for about an hour as State Police investigated the incident and the damaged vehicles were removed by tow trucks. 


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