State soldier hospitalized after being exposed to opioids while overdosing on Long Island driver

A New York State Trooper had to be hospitalized after being exposed to opioids while treating a driver who was suffering from an apparent overdose on a Long Island highway, police said.

The strange incident began just after 1:15 p.m. Thursday on Wantagh State Boulevard in Hempstead, state police said. Soldiers responded to reports of an unbalanced driver heading south and found the car had crashed minutes later.

The driver was unresponsive and appeared to be suffering from an opioid overdose, state police said. Arriving soldiers injected Narcan and the driver was taken to the Nassau University Medical Center.

According to the New York State Police, while investigating the accident, one of the soldiers developed symptoms related to opioid exposure. The soldier was also injected with Narcan and taken to the hospital.

Neither the condition of the driver nor the paratrooper was immediately clarified. However, a 35-year-old driver named Jacqueline Morales of East Meadow was later arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance.

It was not immediately clear whether Morales had a lawyer.