I-81 Tractor-Trailer Crash Linked To Drugs

A Binghamton man has been accused of driving a tractor-trailer while under the influence of drugs, causing a crash that tied up Interstate 81 traffic for several hours.

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]

Authorities say 36-year-old Jeremy Austin was charged with vehicular assault and reckless endangerment after the rig he was operating collided with another tractor-trailer in Cortland County.

Austin also faces charges of operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Investigators say Austin was driving a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer northbound. They say he drifted off the highway and drove through a large median. The truck continued into the southbound lanes when it slammed into the other tractor-trailer.

The crash happened near Exit 9 in the Town of Marathon around 6:10 a.m. Monday. Both vehicles came to rest in the roadway, blocking the southbound lanes for about four hours.

The driver of the second truck was taken to Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City for treatment of injuries.

State police say Austin was in possession of a gram of methamphetamine.

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