GALLATIN – A serious car wreck on the Taconic State Parkway in Gallatin on Monday afternoon resulted in extended closures of the roadway in both directions. The wreck occurred just before 3 p.m. on February 21.
The Milan and Taghkanic Fire Departments and State Police responded to the accident that involved serious injuries that required firefighters to spend nearly 45 minutes working to extricate the driver of the vehicle, according to Milan Fire Chief Kurt Mizgier.
Milan fire officials said a vehicle traveling south on the parkway left the roadway, struck a large tree, and came to rest in the middle of the southbound lanes. At the request of the fire department, the State Police shut down the northbound lanes to allow a medevac helicopter to land and fly the driver to Albany Medical Center. Two children in the car were uninjured in the wreck, Mizgier said, because they had been secured in their child safety seats but were transported by ambulance to Albany Medical Center for evaluation.
The southbound lanes of the Taconic were closed for approximately two hours while the firefighters worked to extricate the trapped operator.
The accident is under investigation by the State Police.
