LEROY, NY — A wrong-way crash on the New York State Thruway in Genesee County left one driver dead and another person seriously hurt late Friday night. New York State Police said troopers were sent to Interstate 90 eastbound in LeRoy shortly before 11 p.m. after reports of a fatal three-vehicle collision.
Investigators said a pickup truck was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes when it hit an SUV. A tractor-trailer was also involved in the wreck. Police identified the pickup driver as Josias Perez, 26, of Caruthers, California.
State police say pickup traveled against traffic before impact
According to a preliminary investigation, Perez was driving the pickup the wrong way in the eastbound lanes when the collision happened. State police said the pickup struck the SUV, with the tractor-trailer also becoming part of the crash scene.
Police have not said why the pickup was in the wrong direction or how long it had been traveling against traffic before the crash. The circumstances leading up to the collision remain under review as troopers continue reconstructing what happened on the highway.
Driver of pickup pronounced dead at the scene
Troopers said Perez was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. No further details were immediately released about his condition before the collision or whether anyone else in his vehicle was involved.
The fatality turned the late-night highway wreck into a major response for state police in the LeRoy area. The crash shut down part of the eastbound Thruway while investigators worked at the scene and began piecing together the sequence of impacts.
SUV driver taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with internal injuries
The driver of the SUV was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester with internal injuries, police said. Authorities did not release that person’s name or provide an update on the extent of the injuries beyond describing them as serious.
State police said the two people in the tractor-trailer were not hurt. Their involvement appears to have been limited to the crash itself, and investigators did not report any injuries from the larger commercial vehicle.
Thruway lanes closed during crash reconstruction
The eastbound lanes of the Thruway were temporarily closed in the area while state police carried out crash reconstruction. That work is part of the process investigators use to determine vehicle positions, direction of travel and the likely order of impact.
Officials said the closure was temporary, but they did not give a timeline for reopening. Drivers in the area were affected while troopers examined the scene and gathered evidence from the highway.
Investigation remains open as police prepare more details
State police said the investigation is ongoing and that more information will be released as it becomes available. For now, the agency has confirmed the wrong-way pickup was at the center of the fatal sequence and that one person died while another was hospitalized.
The crash adds to the dangers already associated with wrong-way driving on high-speed roadways. Police have not released any additional findings about impairment, distraction or other possible factors, and no other injuries were reported in the three-vehicle wreck.
