A tractor-trailer crash early Friday morning on State Route 17 in the town of Nichols has left one man dead.
According to New York State Police at Owego, the incident occurred around 1:53 a.m. on Friday, between exits 63 and 62. A preliminary investigation determined that a 2020 Mitsubishi SUV, driven by 21-year-old Kaden Watson of Warren Center, Pennsylvania, was traveling west when it went off the roadway and struck a guardrail. The vehicle became disabled after its airbags deployed, coming to rest partially in the right lane.
Watson had exited the SUV when a westbound tractor-trailer collided with the vehicle. The tractor-trailer then went off the roadway, down an embankment, and struck a tree. The operator of the tractor-trailer, a 70-year-old man from Ontario, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Watson was not injured and showed no signs of impairment.
Emergency personnel from the Nichols Volunteer Fire Department, Tioga Center Fire & EMS, and the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department responded, while the New York State Department of Transportation assisted with road closures.
Investigators from the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, including the Collision Reconstruction and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement units, are handling the ongoing investigation.
No further details about the tractor-trailer operator have been released at this time.
