HINSDALE, N.Y. — Emergency responders had to put their water-rescue capabilities to the test Tuesday morning to help a driver after his tractor-trailer traveled across a median and into a creek along Interstate 86.
Upon arriving at the scene — the eastbound lanes of I-86 just west of the Hinsdale exit — at roughly 9 a.m., firefighters found the tractor-trailer halfway submerged by the rapidly flowing water in Ischua Creek. The driver, Jeffrey J. Spencer Sr., 51, of Ohio, was still in the cab of the truck, Steven Myszka, Hinsdale Fire Department’s first assistant chief, said.
“The driver was in distress. He had high water flowing all around him and there was nothing he could do about it except wait for help,” Myszka said. “After the driver was removed from the tractor-trailer, he appeared OK. He’s lucky, but he was taken to Olean General Hospital for an evaluation.”
Years of training proved itself during this incident, the assistant chief said.
“In my 23 years as a firefighter, I’ve never seen a semi in the creek,” he said. “This was something new and different, but this why we do a lot of training for this type of issue. I’d say we handled it well. We had a lot of manpower come out for this one.”
A swift-water rescue team and members of Westons Mills Fire Department and New York State Police were at the scene to pull the driver from the water, and a towing service pulled the tractor-trailer out of the creek. Hazardous materials response personnel were also on location to assist in case of a fuel spill, the assistant chief said.
Within an hour of arriving at the scene, the towing service was able to remove rig from the water, but it had to remain on the side of the road until all of the water drained out of it, Myszka said. The trailer was empty, so there was plenty of room for water to collect inside.
As of noon, the eastbound lane was still closed to traffic as crews continued to clear the scene, according to a state police dispatcher.
Before traveling into the creek, the tractor-trailer was heading west, just past Exit 27. The vehicle then traveled off the road, into the soggy, grassy median, across the two westbound lanes and into Ischua Creek, a state trooper said as he pointed toward the deep tire marks in the median.
“Luckily, there wasn’t a lot of traffic traveling east at the time of the accident,” the trooper said. “The tractor-trailer went straight across the lanes without hitting any vehicles. Had this accident occurred in the afternoon when more traffic is traveling east to leave the city, it might have been a different story.”
At the time of the incident, it was raining and the roads were slightly damp, but it was uncertain if that was a contributing factor to the accident, the trooper said. The trooper hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to the driver to about what may have caused him to go off the road.
The driver didn’t appear tired or under the influence of any drugs or alcohol, the trooper added.
“He was a bit dazed and shaken up, but otherwise he appeared fine,” the trooper said. “We’re just glad nobody got hurt.”
Traffic charges are pending, the trooper added.
