Madison County, NY (WRGB) — A tractor-trailer driver from Little Falls has been charged after state police say he hit a New York State Police patrol vehicle on the New York State Thruway in Madison County and kept driving.
New York State Police said the crash happened at about 1:00 p.m. March 25, 2026, near mile marker 273 in Sullivan. A trooper assigned to SP Syracuse had stopped in the right lane with emergency lights activated to remove an obstruction from the roadway.
Investigators said a 2022 Peterbilt truck with a dump trailer, driven by 55-year-old Seth Horender tried to go around the patrol car by illegally passing on the right shoulder. The truck hit the patrol vehicle and continued driving until troopers found and stopped him about 20 miles away, state police said.
Tractor-trailer driver charged after hitting trooper car (NYSP)
The trooper saw the truck approaching and moved to avoid injury, state police said.
The tractor-trailer, registered to Longhorn Trucking Company of Fort Plain, was taken to the Thruway Verona tandem lot for an inspection by the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit, where damage to the left trailer wheels and rims was found, state police said. The patrol vehicle was towed from the scene.
State police said troopers conducted field sobriety tests on Horender and found no indicators of impairment. He was charged with multiple vehicle and traffic law violations, including failure to avoid colliding with an emergency vehicle under the Move Over Law, and was also cited for having an overweight vehicle.
Horender is due in Sullivan Town Court on April 21, 2026.
State police said it was the second incident of a trooper being hit on the Thruway in less than two weeks. State police also reminded drivers that New York’s Move Over Law requires motorists to slow down, be alert and move over when safely possible for all vehicles stopped along the road. In 2025, police said more than 2,500 tickets were issued for Move Over Law violations along the New York State Thruway.