Struck tractor-trailer that overturned in front of him
A 52-year-old Beacon man died early on Monday, Oct. 1, after his vehicle struck an overturned tractor-trailer on Interstate 84 near Kent.
Thomas W. Cipolla was pulled from his 1994 Toyota Camry by passersby and the truck’s driver after the 3:45 a.m. collision and taken to Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, where he was pronounced dead. [A funeral service is scheduled for Oct. 13 in Beacon. Click here for details.]
The New York State Police reported that the tractor-trailer, driven by Sergio Khundiashvili, 36, of Brooklyn, was traveling eastbound in the left lane when it struck the median guardrail, causing the rig to overturn. Cipolla, who was also in the left lane, collided with the truck and both vehicles caught fire.
According to the state police, Khundiashvili and his passenger were taken to Danbury Hospital and treated for minor injuries. I-84 traffic was detoured to Routes 52 and 311 until about 2:45 p.m.
This is one of a series of fatal car/trailer collisions that have occurred on I-84. Presently, the Town of Southeast has a proposal to construct a total of 1.1 million-square-foot distribution warehouses, ala Gap in Fishkill, with 510 semi-trailers on a 24/7 schedule using winding, rural Route 312 and I-84 east and west. The community is unanimously opposed to this dangerous proposal. The rate of fatalities will increase exponentially with the addition of semi-trailers to the mix of school buses, emergency vehicles and resident cars. How can the Town of Southeast Planning and Town Board ignore the cries of residents to reject this development? What does it take?
Why was a tractor trailer in the left lane?