State police will not be conducting a criminal investigation into a 22-year-old NYC resident's crash off the Taconic State Parkway. After veering off nearly 500 feet off the highway early Sunday morning, Thomas Wopat-Moreau survived four days in a swampy ravine and was found on Thursday. Captain Scott Brown said, "There is talk of a party on Saturday evening, but given the seriousness of his injuries, we're concentrating on helping him make a full recovery. There is no criminal investigation."
The remarks came as the state police discussed the crash and search for Wopat-Moreau again. According to the Poughskeepie Journal, he "apparently failed to navigate a slight left turn early Sunday morning after a deer ran across the road, and traveled about 480 feet almost parallel to the highway along 45-degree embankment. As the car traveled at a high speed, brush piled up underneath, effectively creating a ramp that sent the car airborne for 100 feet. When it came down, it rolled over onto its roof... The nearest home was only about 500 feet away, but obscured by heavy foliage."
Wopat-Moreau, who tried to bang on his car with a stick to attract help (but the highway was 50 feet away), managed to drag himself out of the car 150 feet away. Brown said that Wopat-Moreau was trying to drink the juice from blades of tall grass; he initially drank swamp water, but it made him sick. Police were able to find him when they got data showing the latest locations where Wopat-Moreau's phone hit cell towers. An officer noticed some pieces of a car on the highway and called for backup.
Wopat-Moreau, who was dehydrated and suffered back injuries, heard officers talking and and got their attention. Brown said, "It's evident that he had no feeling from his hips down to his toes. It's a serious injury." His mother said, "Thomas is healing. He's eating and drinking. They are hydrating him. He has challenges ahead, but we are going forward." He was scheduled to start a job at Barclays on Tuesday; the bank told WCBS 2, "We are very happy to learn that he has been found. As we only learned recently of the news, we cannot comment further at this stage."
