Rabbi Yehuda Weinstock killed in wrong-way crash on New York State Thruway
TUXEDO, N.Y. -- Two people were killed in a wrong-way crash overnight on the New York State Thruway in Orange County.
It happened around 1 a.m. Tuesday between exits 16 and 15A in Tuxedo.
The mangled wreckage of the two vehicles, a white sedan and a black compact SUV, vividly illustrated the deadly nature of the impact.
New York State Police say 68-year-old George Gonzalez of Dumont, New Jersey, was driving the black vehicle. At around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Gonzalez somehow entered the southbound lanes of I-87 going northbound.
He collided head-on with the sedan, driven by 67-year-old Rabbi Yehuda Weinstock. Both drivers were alone in their vehicles and both died at the scene, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
Dash cam video obtained by Yeshiva World News shows the wrong-way driver minutes before the crash going north against traffic on Highway 17, approaching Thruway Exit 15, which would put Gonzalez into the southbound lanes of the Thruway a few miles from the crash site.
State police are still piecing together exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the fatal collision.
In keeping with religious tradition, Rabbi Weinstock's funeral was held a few hours later at the Satmar Synagogue in Williamsburg. Weinstock worked as an aide to Grand Rebbe Zalman Teitelbaum. Community members told CBS2 that Weinstock was held in high regard.
Family members of wrong-way driver Gonzalez were too upset to speak on camera.
