New York Man is Convicted of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide in Crash that Killed Tow Operator

On Friday, July 21, a jury in a Saratoga County Court convicted a Moreau, NY, man of aggravated vehicular homicide among other charges in the 2022 death of a tow operator on the Northway.

Justin P. Rodriguez, 42, was at the wheel of a vehicle that struck and killed operator Alex Bleikhardt on Sept. 15, 2022. Bleickhardt had been working underneath a disabled box truck on northbound I-87 between exits 15 and 16 when he was struck by Rodriguez’s truck.

Rodriguez was found guilty of 14 of the 16 counts against him, including three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide along with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was also convicted of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

According to news reports, Rodriguez has three prior DWI convictions in the last 15 years.

The jury acquitted him of a second-degree murder charge, and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

Rodriguez faces up to 25 years in state prison.

He will be sentenced in September.