Waking up to news of a fatal car accident upstate NY today is becoming a heavy, recurring reality for many New Yorkers. Honestly, the roads across the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, and the North Country have been treacherous lately. Whether it’s the unpredictable lake-effect snow or just high-speed errors on the Thruway, the consequences are devastating.
Just yesterday, on January 13, emergency crews in Cayuga County were scrambled to a violent two-vehicle collision on a rural stretch of Route 90. One person was trapped inside their vehicle. It's the kind of call first responders dread. These rural routes look peaceful, but they can turn deadly in a heartbeat when speeds are high and visibility drops.
Recent Tragedy on Upstate Roads
It hasn't just been today. The last two weeks have been a blur of sirens and police tape across the state. In Newburgh, a police pursuit that began on New Year’s Day ended in a high-speed collision on Broadway that claimed the life of 39-year-old Marcus A. Burks. He struck a Toyota turning out of a driveway. The two young people in that Toyota, ages 19 and 20, survived, but they’re likely changed forever.
Then there’s the Thruway. On January 6, David R. Hall of Massachusetts died after his SUV slammed into the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of I-90 in Albany. Even his dog didn't make it. It’s a sobering reminder that the shoulder of the highway is one of the most dangerous places you can be.
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Further west in Webster, a 33-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed on State Route 104 on January 7. No crosswalk. No impairment from the driver. Just a split-second tragedy in the dark of the early morning.
Why These Accidents Keep Happening
You've probably noticed that upstate driving is its own beast. You have a mix of heavy commercial trucking and local traffic sharing two-lane roads that weren't necessarily built for the volume they see now.
- The "Shoulder" Danger: As we saw in the Albany crash, the shoulder isn't a safe zone. If a truck is pulled over, there's a significant risk of rear-end collisions, especially at night.
- Speed in Rural Areas: Route 90 and Route 79 (where a 17-year-old was tragically killed in Harpursville last week) are notorious. People treat these country roads like highways.
- Winter "Thaw and Freeze": We are currently in a "January thaw" period according to local meteorologists. This sounds great until the sun goes down. The meltwater from the day freezes into black ice by 6:00 PM.
Basically, the New York State Police are stretched thin trying to reconstruct these scenes. The Collision Reconstruction Units have been working overtime from Clarkstown—where 70-year-old Minette Brown was recently identified as a fatal pedestrian victim on the Palisades Parkway—all the way up to the Canadian border.
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How to Stay Safe When the News Hits Home
Honestly, knowing about a fatal car accident upstate NY today should make us all rethink our next drive. The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) and State Police have been pushing the "Move Over" law for years, but people still ignore it. If you see lights, move. If you see a car on the shoulder, move.
If you're driving through Cayuga or Oneida County today, be especially mindful of the "live" activity. As of this morning, Oneida County 911 centers are still processing welfare checks and domestic calls that often bleed into roadway incidents.
The investigation into the most recent crashes, including the one on Route 90, remains ongoing. Police are usually looking for witnesses. If you saw something, call the State Police Montgomery Bureau or the Troop C BCI. Your dashcam footage could be the piece of the puzzle that brings a family closure.
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To keep yourself off the news, focus on three things:
Check your tires. Upstate winters eat tread for breakfast.
Slow down on the transition ramps.
Actually use your headlights, even when it’s just "sorta" gray out.
The roads aren't getting any wider, and the trucks aren't getting any smaller. Stay sharp out there.
Actionable Next Steps:
Check the New York State Thruway real-time map before heading out to avoid active accident scenes. If you have information regarding the Newburgh or Albany crashes, contact the New York State Police Troop G or Troop F headquarters directly to provide a statement.