No Criminal Investigation Into NYC Man's Taconic Crash

State police with the totaled car (AP)

State police will not be conducting a criminal investigation into a 22-year-old NYC resident's crash off the Taconic State Parkway. After veering off nearly 500 feet off the highway early Sunday morning, Thomas Wopat-Moreau survived four days in a swampy ravine and was found on Thursday. Captain Scott Brown said, "There is talk of a party on Saturday evening, but given the seriousness of his injuries, we're concentrating on helping him make a full recovery. There is no criminal investigation."

The remarks came as the state police discussed the crash and search for Wopat-Moreau again. According to the Poughskeepie Journal, he "apparently failed to navigate a slight left turn early Sunday morning after a deer ran across the road, and traveled about 480 feet almost parallel to the highway along 45-degree embankment. As the car traveled at a high speed, brush piled up underneath, effectively creating a ramp that sent the car airborne for 100 feet. When it came down, it rolled over onto its roof... The nearest home was only about 500 feet away, but obscured by heavy foliage."

Wopat-Moreau, who tried to bang on his car with a stick to attract help (but the highway was 50 feet away), managed to drag himself out of the car 150 feet away. Brown said that Wopat-Moreau was trying to drink the juice from blades of tall grass; he initially drank swamp water, but it made him sick. Police were able to find him when they got data showing the latest locations where Wopat-Moreau's phone hit cell towers. An officer noticed some pieces of a car on the highway and called for backup.

Wopat-Moreau, who was dehydrated and suffered back injuries, heard officers talking and and got their attention. Brown said, "It's evident that he had no feeling from his hips down to his toes. It's a serious injury." His mother said, "Thomas is healing. He's eating and drinking. They are hydrating him. He has challenges ahead, but we are going forward." He was scheduled to start a job at Barclays on Tuesday; the bank told WCBS 2, "We are very happy to learn that he has been found. As we only learned recently of the news, we cannot comment further at this stage."

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By Jen Chung in News on June 5, 2010 3:30 PM

Comments [rss]

robingee

Wow, he actually ended up in a ditch. Just like our moms always worried about. I wonder if he was wearing clean underwear.

vernon123

Hat’s off. Well done, as we know that “hard work always pays off”, after a long struggle

with sincere effort it’s done.

========

vernon

Car Motorcycle Parts

henryhamilton

Without some direct evidence of intoxication, it's a nonstarter. Regardless the statements of the witnesses, who were probably as drunk as him.

just saying

Haha at NYPost headline: "Swamp Man Avoids Probe."

No criminal investigation? How customary is this or does Wopat-Moreau's family have connections in the area? I wonder if Barclays will try to find some tactful way to rescind their job offer. Looks like Wopat-Moreau might be a constant drain on their medical insurance plan.

drewo

Like when folks need to be heli-rescued after some sort of ill-advised climb up a mountain: charge Wopat-Moreau with the state's full cost of tracking him down, hauling him out of the brush to a hospital, pulling his wreck out of the ditch, and the NYS Police's time for investigating and filling out paperwork.

xgeyiph772

So if you get drunk at a party (as told by his own friends), crash you car and hurt only yourself, that's OK in the eyes of the law? What if he mowed down a family or crashed into a bus stop instead of the woods?

Why is NYS law so lenient against bad drivers?

jaycjay

The state spent enough money looking for him. What would be the point of spending more on a prosecution where there is absolutely no evidence of anything more serious than a traffic violation?