NY State Police Criticized For Posting Gruesome Accident Photo

Many say they are still haunted by a violent image posted to the New York State Police's social media outlets.

Authorities are now apologizing for releasing a photo from the scene of a fatal car wreck on Wednesday night. Now calling the image "inappropriate", New York State Police say their intent was not to offend.

New York State Police Publish Shocking Photo

The image, which we will not republish here, shows the burning body of a victim of a head-on car crash as well as the license plate of the vehicle they were driving. The fatal accident forced the closure of all six lanes of Route 17 in Goshen from Wednesday night until early Thursday morning.

Even a description of the photo may be difficult for some people to read, so if you don't want all of the details you can skip past the next paragraph.

The photograph posted by police clearly shows the body of a man lying face up on the ground next to a mangled automobile. The person has one arm stretched over the head and the other at the side. The gruesome photo also shows the accident victim's upper body with blood stains while their legs and lower torso are completely engulfed in flames.

There was a swift reaction from those who saw the photograph on social media. Within minutes hundreds of people had commented on the post, criticizing the State Police for publishing the image. Many demanded that they take it down out of respect for the accident victim's family. A person we spoke to who saw the disturbing photo said they thought it was a prank. Another told us that they feared the image was from someone who hacked into the account. Others weren't as kind to give troopers the benefit of the doubt, angrily criticizing them for being so insensitive.

New York State Police Apologize For Image

While police refused to explain who was responsible for posting the image, they eventually took it down and issued an apology. The next day a statement from the Public Information Office appeared on the State Police Facebook Page, saying that the image was posted by mistake.

Police explained that they regretted the error and would take the opportunity to make sure it would not happen again.

More Details Emerge About Fatal Accident on Route 17 in Orange County

Police say they received reports of a 2008 Ford F150 heading in the wrong direction on Route 17 in Sullivan County just after 10pm on Wednesday. Attempts to stop the vehicle were unsuccessful and the driver eventually crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer ten minutes later.

Route 17 was closed in both directions overnight. Late Thursday police released the name of the victim. The driver of the pickup truck was identified as Amiel Maerling, a 32-year-old man from Ulster County. The driver of the tractor-trailer reportedly received serious injuries and was transported to Garnet Medical Center.

Police did not say if disciplinary action would be taken against the person responsible for posting the graphic image on its social media platforms.