FISHKILL – The motorist who led Town of Newburgh police on a chase Sunday and eventually was involved in a head-on collision was allegedly drunk, according to the state police. Town of Newburgh police had attempted to stop the motorist near the former Newburgh Mall on Route 300 just before 5 p.m., but the driver failed to stop and fled eastbound on I-84.
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The driver, later identified as 31-year-old Oscar Barahona of Lynbrook, NY (Long Island), traveled east on I-84 from Route 300 as town police gave chase. After crossing the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge into Dutchess County, Town of Newburgh police turned off their emergency lights and terminated the pursuit near the I-84 interchange with Route 9D.
Barahona, driving a 2007 Honda, attempted to make a U-turn through the median on I-84 just past the Route 9D exit, lost control, and swerved into westbound traffic, eventually striking a Toyota pickup driven by a 66-year-old Pleasant Valley resident head-on. Firefighters, police, and EMS from the Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corp (BVAC) responded to the crash while Barahona climbed from his vehicle and fled on foot, triggering a manhunt.
EMS personnel triaged the pickup truck driver and transported him to St. Luke’s-Cornwall Hospital while police from several agencies began searching I-84 and the surrounding neighborhoods for Barahona. Police, using drones and K9 units, searched the area, locating Barahona approximately 45 minutes after the wreck, while he was hiding in the tall grass along I-84, half a mile east of the wreck. He refused medical attention and was taken into custody by state troopers.
He was issued a series of field sobriety tests, which he failed. At the state police barracks, he submitted to a chemical breath test that yielded a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.13 percent.
Following the investigation, Barahona was charged with the misdemeanors of reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, DWI, and operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08% or more, and several vehicle and traffic violations. He was issued appearance tickets for a court date in Fishkill Justice Court on October 22, 2026, at 9 a.m. and then turned over to the Town of Newburgh Police Department for processing on the original incident.
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