Tractor trailer crash in Cortland under investigation

A tractor trailer crashed into a guide rail early Tuesday morning (photo provided)

CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Cortland County Sheriff's Office is investigating a crash that occurred early Tuesday morning on Interstate 81 in Cortland.

At around 3:40 a.m., officers responded to I-81 Northbound at Exit 11, in the city of Cortland, for a crash involving a tractor trailer.

The driver, 43-year-old Patrick L. Jernigan, of Weedsport, was driving a 2018 Freightliner tractor trailer northbound on I-81 when he lost control of the vehicle on the shoulder of the road.

The tractor trailer went through the guide rail and over an embankment, coming to rest in the median of the highway.

The accident damaged more than 400 feet of guiderail, supports, and asphalt roadway, according to Lt. Karl Altmann with the sheriff's office.

The truck was carrying fuel tanks that were ruptured in the crash, requiring a response from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Other agencies that responded to the scene included the Cortland Fire Department, TLC Ambulance, Ron's Towing & Auto Body, Morey's Towing, Rick & Rich Towing, and the New York State Department of Transportation.

The investigation into the crash remains ongoing, Lt. Altmann said.