Authorities say a Pennsylvania truck driver was intoxicated when his tractor-trailer crashed into a New Jersey woman's car on a Hudson Valley bridge earlier this week, causing major traffic backups that lasted for hours.
State police tell the Times Herald-Record of Middletown that 49-year-old James Tiedeken was traveling in the westbound lanes of Interstate 84 around 9:30 p.m. Monday when his rig veered out of control, crossed the median on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and collided with a car driven by 39-year-old Elissa Betterbid.
Betterbid was taken a Poughkeepsie hospital, where she was treated for head, leg and internal injuries.
Tiedeken was charged with vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He's being held Wednesday in Orange County Jail. It couldn't be determined if he had a lawyer.
More stories on NBC10.com:
