34-year-old Michelle Cio of Tarrytown was traveling southbound on the northbound side of the Taconic State Parkway and struck another vehicle around 12:22am this morning, August 12. She died in the crash.
Cio entered the parkway somewhere north of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, officials said. The other driver, Alicia Asadoorian, 27, suffered leg injuries and was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
State police said 5.3 grams of marijuana was found in the Audi and toxicology tests are underway.
An autopsy has not yet been completed.
This isn’t the first time a wrong-way driver on the Taconic has caused a fatal accident. In 2009, Diane Schuler of West Babylon, drove the wrong way onto the parkway in Mount Pleasant and collided head-on with another vehicle. She died and killed seven others. Schuler’s blood-alcohol level was 0.19%, more than twice the legal limit. The THC in her system showed she had been under the influence of marijuana at the time as well.
Other fatal tragedies occurred on the Taconic and other nearby highways as a result of wrong-way driving. Unfortunately, these incidents happen more often than we would hope.
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident due to another driver’s negligence, contact us for a free case appraisal today. We can help.