Update: Truck Veers Off I-684 Ramp Into Hutchinson River

HARRISON - A driver lost control of an 18-wheeler on the southbound exit from Interstate 684 to eastbound Interstate 287 Monday afternoon, the truck crashed through a guardrail and fell into the Hutchinson River, closing the ramp for more than four hours.

Authorities were able to remove the driver, identified as 50-year-old Jack Vance, and pulled the truck out of the river around 6 p.m. Both lanes of traffic were cleared shortly after that, the ramp had been completely blocked off for most of the afternoon.

Police say that the driver told them that he was cut off by another vehicle causing his breaks to slip and him to slide into the wall on the right side of the ramp. The truck then carromed off of that wall and jackknifed into the left shoulder.

"I think he was probably going too fast personally," said Chris Spallone of the New York State Police. "There's a sharp turn right there, he thought he probably hit the brakes, they locked, and that jacknifed him to the wall."

Several state police cars and tow trucks occupied the road as the 18-wheeler was removed. Authorities had to use a chainsaw to cut through trees to even reach the vehicle at the bottom of a steep embankment.

The sharp downhill turn has been the scene of other accidents in the past, but this was the first time that a vehicle has fallen off the left side of the ramp into the river, according to police.

Traffic moving from southbound Interstate 684 to Interstate 287 east was temporarily diverted toward Interstate 287 west while the ramp was closed, causing moderate delays.