MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. -- Just after 3:30 Wednesday morning, state police say, a car carrying three passengers ran out of gas on I-84 westbound, just past Exit 3. The car was parked in the driving lane as the driver called 911. While she was on the phone, police say a tractor trailer hit the car.
"The accident was heard by the 911 operator and the line was cut off," said Capt. Brendan Casey of the New York State Police.
Three people in the car were killed. Two of them have been identified -- the driver, 29-year-old Jesenia Valentin from Bridgeport, Conn., and her nine-year-old daughter, Angelina Rodriguez.
Police have not identified the third woman. Two dogs inside the car were also killed.
The driver of the tractor trailer was uninjured and police say there are no signs he was impaired. Police say the driver of the tractor trailer is not expected to face any charges.
"He says he sees the lights, believes the vehicle is moving, comes upon it and discovers at the last second that the vehicle was not moving," Casey said.
Police say the accident illustrates how dangerous it is to leave a car in the driving lane of an interstate. If, for some reason, you can't pull over to the shoulder, they say you need to get far away from your vehicle.
"If your vehicle becomes disabled, particularly in low-light conditions, and you're in the driving lane on the interstate, I would exit the vehicle and walk over the guardrail into the woods and wait there,” Casey said.
The deadly crash shut down the westbound lanes of I-84 between exits 2 and 3 for more than eight hours Wednesday morning while police investigated.
“Took a lot of time to clear,” said MaryEllen Anderson, a Connecticut resident on her way to Alabama.
“Basically set the parking brakes and that was it. Sit there and watch a lot of nothing,” said Chad Stills, a tractor trailer driver from Michigan.
All lanes reopened shortly before noon. The investigation is ongoing.