New York Trucker Charged After Crash Closes I-81 Southbound

MARATHON, N.Y. (AP) — A New York truck driver has been charged after his vehicle slammed into another tractor-trailer on Interstate 81, shutting down the highway's southbound lanes for several hours.

State police say 36-year-old Jeremy Austin of Binghamton was driving a tractor-trailer north on I-81 around 6 a.m. Monday when he drifted off the road, drove across the median and crashed into a southbound truck in the Cortland County town of Marathon, 40 miles south of Syracuse.

Both trucks came to rest in the southbound lanes, blocking traffic.

The driver of the truck that was hit was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Austin was charged with vehicular assault, driving while impaired by drugs and reckless endangerment. He's being held in the county jail.

It couldn't be determined if Austin has a lawyer.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]