By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer
A Norwich man died
Monday morning after his
car collided with a tractor trailer
in North Norwich.
Leolin Parker, 48, was
driving north on state
Route 12 at about 8 a.m.
when his car crossed into
the southbound lane and
was struck head-on by a
tractor-trailer driven by
Roger Louderkirk, 36, of
Mohawk, state police at
Norwich said.
Parker was driving
alone in his 2007 Chevrolet
Cobalt. He was pronounced
dead at the scene.
Louderkirk suffered minor
injuries and was treated
at Chenango Memorial
Hospital in Norwich, according
to troopers. His
condition was unavailable
from the hospital Monday
night.
Parker was wearing a
seat belt, troopers said.
Chenango County 911
received several reports
that a car on Route 12 was
being operated erratically
at the time of the crash.
Road conditions were
not a factor, troopers said.
An autopsy on Parker
was scheduled for later today
at Lourdes Hospital in
Binghamton.
The highway was closed
for about six hours after
the crash.
Louderkirk’s tractor trailer
came to rest in a
pond and was partially
submerged, but the driver
was able to get himself out
of the rig, troopers said.
A spill-response team
from the state Department
of Environmental Conservation
was called to the
scene as a precaution, but
there was no spill, troopers
said.
The tractor-trailer was
owned by RB Humphreys
of Rome, which specializes
in the refrigerated
transport of meat, dairy
products, produce and frozen
food.
Alcohol is not believed
to be a factor, but it is not
known why Parker may
have been driving erratically,
troopers said.
State police collision reconstruction
experts
and a commercial vehicle enforcement
team were at
the scene, along with emergency
personnel from the
Norwich and North Norwich
fire departments.
Louderkirk was not issued
any tickets.
Autopsy results for
Parker were not immediately
available from state
police.
