Chardonnay spills after semitrailer crash

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PLATTEKILL, N.Y., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A semitrailer hauling wine overturned on a highway in New York's Hudson Valley Tuesday, spilling chardonnay and blocking traffic, state police said.

The Freightliner tractor-trailer blocked both northbound lanes of the New York State Thruway after the 10:36 a.m. accident, police spokesman Sgt. John Antonelli told United Press International.

The trailer had separated from the tractor unit, rolled over and skidded on its side, spilling bottles of the white wine onto the limited-access highway, he said.

Broken green bottles were "all over the roadway" in Plattekill, about 70 miles north of New York City, Antonelli said

The chardonnay was being hauled to Coxsackie, N.Y., 60 miles north, near Albany, from Jersey City, N.J., across the Hudson River from New York City.

The semitrailer, driven by Klever Gordillo, 33, of Elizabeth, N.J., had been rear-ended by another tractor-trailer after it blew a left-rear tire on its trailer and slowed, Antonelli said.

The other 18-wheeler, driven by Minard Dibble, 60, Voorheesville, N.Y., was empty and veered to the right shoulder, going down a small embankment and stopping in a ditch, Antonelli said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.