2 Injured When Tractor-Trailer Rams Into Police Car on 87

Two people were injured in the Hudson Valley, including a State Trooper after a tractor-trailer rammed into a police car and a disabled vehicle on the Thruway.

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On Wednesday around 3 p.m., a marked State Police patrol car was assisting a disabled vehicle when it was struck by a tractor-trailer on I-87 northbound in the city of Kingston.

Trooper Thomas P. Hanigan was inside his patrol car when a tractor-trailer failed to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle and struck the driver’s side of the trooper car, police say.

According to police, the truck driver, Michael Audit, 54, of Quebec, continued north and struck the driver’s side of the disabled vehicle, a 2003 Chevy Tahoe, while both occupants were attempting to change a tire. The tractor-trailer then struck the guide rail and crossed over the northbound lanes, coming to rest on the westbound shoulder.

The passenger of the Tahoe, Juana Herrera, 46, of Albany was injured when the vehicle struck her and pushed her into the guide rail. The driver, Alejandro Espinosa, 56, of Albany was able to jump over the guard rail and was not injured.

Both Herrera and Trooper Hanigan, a 19-year veteran assigned to State Police Kingston, were transported to Kingston Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, treated and released, police say.

Audit wasn't injured and was ticketed for moving from lane unsafely and violating the move Over law.

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation also responded to the scene for spill response, due to fuel leaking into the Esopus Creek.