TOWN OF TONAWANDA (WKBW) — An Alden man is charged with Driving While Intoxicated after a chain-reaction crash on the New York State Thruway caused major damage to a state police vehicle and forced the trooper to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
According to state police, a trooper was on the scene of a one-car crash involving a Dodge Charger on I-190 southbound around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when the larger crash occurred.
A Dodge Ram driven by James Phalen, 34, hit a Ford Focus, which then hit the parked state police cruiser, causing the cruiser to hit the Charger.
The trooper, who was standing in the roadway, saw the oncoming collision and quickly hopped over the center concrete barrier onto the northbound side of traffic to safety.
No one was injured. Phalen was arrested for DWI and issued other vehicle and traffic tickets.
