SCHROON, N.Y. — A Baltimore woman lost her life Friday evening when the cargo van she was traveling in slammed into a New York State Police SUV parked on the shoulder of Interstate 87, triggering a multi-vehicle crash that shut down the highway’s northbound lanes for several hours.
According to New York State Police, the marked patrol SUV was stationary on the northbound shoulder near Exit 28, conducting a routine traffic stop of a 2011 Mercedes for a traffic violation. Both vehicles were safely positioned on the shoulder with the patrol SUV’s emergency lights flashing when a 2015 Ford Transit van traveling northbound suddenly veered and struck the rear of the police vehicle.
The impact caused a chain-reaction collision that left one person dead and several others injured. The passenger of the Ford Transit, identified as 43-year-old Anne F. Everton of Baltimore, Maryland, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Brian M. Danioski, 58, also from Baltimore, sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening and was transported to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment.
The State Police member inside the SUV was also taken to Glens Falls Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities said the trooper had been completing a traffic stop when the crash occurred. The occupants of the Mercedes involved in the initial stop, James J. Shinn and Mayne M. Hackett, were unharmed, though their vehicle suffered minor damage in the collision.
The northbound lanes of I-87 near Exit 28 remained closed well into the night as investigators examined the scene and worked to clear the debris. State Police accident reconstruction teams responded to determine the sequence of events leading up to the deadly crash.
Officials have not released further details regarding potential causes, such as driver distraction or impairment, but said the investigation is ongoing. Authorities reminded drivers to move over and slow down when approaching stopped emergency vehicles—a law designed to prevent tragedies like this one. The fatal crash serves as a somber reminder of the dangers officers and motorists face along busy highways.