New York State Police said a broken mudflap from a truck traveling on the opposite side of the I-90 killed a Tennessee trucker on Monday night.
Petros D. Liben, 54, of Bartlett, Tennessee, was pronounced dead Monday night after his tractor-trailer struck a guide rail in Hanover in Chautauqua County.
He was operating a 2020 Volvo tractor-trailer with a 53-foot trailer eastbound on I-90 when the vehicle left the roadway on the north shoulder and struck a guide rail just after 10 p.m. Liben suffered injuries to his face and abdomen in the crash. He was airlifted to Erie County Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
Troopers from SP Buffalo, the New York State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit, Collision Reconstruction Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Response Unit responded to the scene on Monday.
A state police investigation has now determined that a fender/mudflap sheared off a 32-foot trailer hauled by a 2019 Dodge Ram traveling westbound on the I-90. The partial fender/mudflap shaft becoming airborne crossed the center median and directly into the path of the Volvo OTR windshield, striking Liben.
State Police officials noted that the accident is still an active investigation.