HUDSON — A Hudson police officer jumped into the back of a UPS truck Friday morning to stop it after the truck’s driver suffered a suspected drug overdose while driving in the city, Hudson Police Chief L. Edward Moore said.
Hudson police responded at about 9:44 a.m. Friday to a report that a UPS truck had struck a vehicle and the victim thought the driver was intoxicated, or that something was wrong with him. Two police vehicles and the bicycle patrol rushed to the area and located the truck at the corner of North 2nd and Columbia streets, Moore said.
The UPS driver, 36-year-old Johnathan L. Miller of Tannersville, remained in Columbia Memorial Health’s intensive care unit Friday after Hudson Police Officer Randy Strattman jumped into the moving truck at north Second and Columbia streets, turned off the ignition to stop the vehicle and then administered two doses of Narcan to Miller, Moore added.
“He’ll [Miller] be in there [the hospital] a while as he is currently being intubated,” Moore said.
The driver drifted in and out of consciousness during the incident. Miller will be hospitalized indefinitely, the chief added.
Before Strattman leaped onto the vehicle, the delivery truck hit two parked cars, which received minor damage, Moore said.
Some evidence of drug use was found in the truck, Moore said, but he did not go into detail about what was found.
A search warrant was signed by the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office to allow blood samples to be taken from Miller at the hospital, Moore said.
Charges are pending in the case, Moore said. The truck also brought down some tree branches. A short time later, several other UPS trucks arrived in the area to continue the day’s deliveries.
UPS said it is cooperating with the investigation.
“Our driver’s health and safety are our first priority. We appreciate those who have helped with this situation, and we are cooperating with the responding authorities,” UPS Media Relations Manager Kim Krebs said in a press release.
Moore thanked the alert citizen who reported the driver to police.
“The situation could have turned out much worse if she hadn’t,” he said.