CHESTERTOWN, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Police are investigating a fatal crash near Exit 25 northbound on the Northway.
Police say just after 8 a.m., troopers observed a vehicle traveling in excess of 90 MPH in a work zone.
Troopers tried to stop the vehicle for speeding, but the driver, 30-year-old Skyler Crouse, is accused of continuing at a high rate of speed.
Law enforcement pursued Crouse for several miles and used a tire deflation device to deflate the vehicle’s tires just south of exit 25.
Police say with one tire deflated Crouse exited the Northway at Exit 25, still traveling at a high rate of speed, struck another vehicle on the off-ramp, killing the driver, 38-year-old Joseph Turcotte.
Police say Crouse then continued across Route 8, with his vehicle coming to a rest on the northbound entrance ramp.
State Police have charged Crouse with the following: Manslaughter 2nd degree (C felony), Reckless Endangerment 1st degree (D felony), Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle 1st degree (D felony), and Resisting Arrest (A misdemeanor), and Harassment 2nd degree, a violation, after he spit on a member of the media that was covering his arraignment.
Crouse was arraigned at Warren County Centralized Arraignment Part and remanded to Warren County Jail without bail.
