Man admits to being high when he struck trooper, tow truck driver on Northway

A Malta man has admitted to being high on drugs when he hit a state trooper and tow truck driver on the Northway in Colonie last year.

Jason Guerin, 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault on Wednesday.

Guerin was high on combination of fentanyl and cocaine on Nov. 2, 2024. He swerved off the highway and crashed his truck on the shoulder of the roadway near the Exit 6 and 7 southbound ramp of the Northway, according to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. 

The trooper had stopped a driver for a traffic violation and the vehicle was being towed when the crash occurred.

Trooper Nicholas Abbondola and tow truck driver Brett M. Dempsey were both seriously injured and are still recovering.

Guerin was previously convicted of DWI in Malta Town Court earlier last year.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12 and faces a prison term of 4 to 12 years.