Unresponsive 17-year-old pulled from burning barn after crashing Honda, NY cops say

A sound believed to be a car crash led investigating troopers to a burning barn and a Honda with an unresponsive teenage driver inside, New York state police say.

Flames erupted after the 17-year-old crashed their minivan into the barn around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 in the town of Wappinger, according to a state police news release.

Troopers tried extinguishing the flames before pulling the driver out of the Honda Odyssey to safety, state police say.

The teen was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries considered to be non-life-threatening, according to authorities.

Ultimately, the driver was charged with driving while intoxicated, police say.

The crash closed state route 9D for 12 hours and left the barn destroyed, according to the release.

Several fire agencies, including the Hughsonville Fire Department, arrived at the scene and battled the fire before it came under control, police say.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident, the release states.

Wappinger is about 75 miles north of New York City.

This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 9:58 AM.

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.