LIVINGSTON—One person was killed and four others were hurt in a two-vehicle crash on State Route 9G, near the intersection of Oak Hill Road, December 5 at about 9:27 a.m.
According to a press release from Columbia County Sheriff David Harrison, Jr., deputies determined that a 2012 Nissan van was headed north on State Route 9G when for unknown reasons it traveled into the southbound lane and struck an oncoming 2012 Ford F-250 pickup truck.
The operator of the pickup attempted to avoid the collision but was unable to. The driver of the van, who was critically injured, was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital and later to Albany Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.
Two occupants of the truck were also taken to CMH and two others were taken to Albany Medical Center.
Injuries to the truck occupants do not appear to be life threatening. The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing the names of those involved until the next of kin are notified. The van operator and the people in the truck are not Columbia County residents.
The accident is under investigation by sheriff’s investigators and the Sheriff’s Accident/Incident Investigation Unit. Investigators are working with the Albany County coroner to determine if the operator of the van possibly suffered a medical problem or was in some way distracted.
Northern Dutchess Paramedics as well as Livingston and Greenport firefighters assisted at the scene.
Investigating for the Sheriff’s Office are Undersheriff James Sweet, Senior Investigators Kevin Skype and William Foster, Investigators Anthony Brahm, Mark Dunspaugh, Patrick Logue, Sergeant John DeRocha, Deputies Joshua Oakes, Andrew Broockmann, Wendy Guntert and William Dunspaugh.
Germantown
State Police investigation from Livingston charged Heather T. Breault, 33, of Cairo with three counts of felony second degree burglary, felony third degree criminal solicitation and two counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, December 4 at 12:30 p.m.
Police alleged that on two occasions, Ms. Breault got an 11-year-old juvenile to enter the Germantown home of an acquaintance via a doggie door, for the purpose of stealing money.
She was arraigned in Livingston Court and committed to the Columbia County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bail bond. Ms. Breault was ordered to re-appear in Livingston Court December 12.
Kinderhook
Lester W. Shea, 18, of Niverville was charged with second degree rape, a class D felony, by State Police from Kinderhook and investigators from Livingston, December 4.
Following an investigation into a report of a sexual relationship between Mr. Shea and a 13-year-old victim by State Police, the Columbia County DA’s Office and the Columbia County Child Advocacy Center, Mr. Shea was charged.
He was arraigned in Stuyvesant Court and sent to the Columbia County Jail in lieu of $1,000 cash bail or $5,000 bond.
He is set to return to court at a later date.
The investigation into this sex crime is ongoing and additional charges are anticipated. Anyone with
information related to this case or Mr. Shea is asked to contact State Police at 518 851-2894.
Drugs/alcohol
The following face drug-and/or alcohol-related charges:
*Nancy E. Manes, 62, of New Lebanon was charged with driving while intoxicated by State Police from New Lebanon, October 27 at 1:08 a.m. Troopers received a report of a vehicle off the road on Route 20, New Lebanon near the Columbia-Rensselaer county line. They found Ms. Manes had run off the road and was operating her vehicle in an intoxicated condition. She provided a breath sample with a .16% blood alcohol content and issued tickets returnable in New Lebanon Court at a later date.
*Philip A. Widget, 56, of Livingston was charged with seventh degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content greater than .08%, all class A misdemeanors, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and failure to keep right, both violations, by Deputies Peter Grzeskow and Kris Bauhoff, October 27 at 4:04 a.m. Mr. Widget was stopped in Greenport. He failed field sobriety tests and provided a breath sample with a .16% blood alcohol content. He was issued tickets returnable in Greenport Court at a later date.
*Paul Morse, 23, of Chatham was charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content greater than .08%, both misdemeanors, by Deputies Kris Bauhoff and Peter Grzeskow, November 3 at 1:22 a.m. Mr. Morse was involved in a motor vehicle accident on State Route 203, Kinderhook, when he drove his vehicle off the road and struck a sign post. Deputies saw that he appeared intoxicated and administered field sobriety tests, which he failed. Mr. Morse provided a breath sample that yielded a .15 % blood alcohol concentration. He was issued tickets returnable in Kinderhook Town Court at a later date.
*Cordero Ramos, 20, of Peekskill was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, failed to comply and fail to move over by State Police from Livingston, November 4. Troopers were conducting a traffic stop on the Taconic State Parkway, when a vehicle passed by the cruiser without moving over to give police the proper space to conduct the traffic stop safely. A trooper attempted to stop the vehicle which didn’t pull over for about four miles. When the vehicle finally stopped, troopers smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside. A State Police K-9 searched the vehicle. Passenger Rory Waterman, 23, of Peekskill was found to have less than 25 grams of the substance and was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Both Mr. Ramos and Mr. Waterman were issued appearance tickets returnable in Claverack Court at a later date.
*Laura A. Pelosi-Rauscher, 41, of Red Hook was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated by State Police from Livingston, November 2 at 11:38 p.m. Ms. Pelosi-Rauscher was found to be intoxicated after she was pulled over for failure to maintain her lane of travel. She provided a breath sample which yielded a .11% blood alcohol content. She was issued tickets ordering her to appear in Red Hook Court at a later date.
*Emily A. Briggs, 25, of Hudson was charged with criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, a class A misdemeanor, by State Police from Livingston, November 3 at 9:41 p.m. Ms. Briggs was pulled over in Greenport for a moving traffic law violation and was subsequently found to possession hypodermic needles. She was issued tickets ordering her to appear in Greenport Court at a later date.
*Zuri D. Blash, 17, of Troy was charged with seventh degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor, in Claverack by State Police, November 6 at 9:38 p.m. He was issued a ticket ordering him to appear in Claverack Court at a later date.
*Donald D. Hamilton, 25, of Ghent was charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content greater than .08%, both misdemeanors, by Deputies Thomas Bagnall and Jeffrey Hofstetter, November 7 at 10:20 p.m. Columbia County 911 assigned the deputies to check out a reported accident in the area of Route 22 and Orchard Road in Ghent. Their investigation revealed that Mr. Hamilton was intoxicated and the vehicle he was driving had run off the road and struck a utility pole. He failed field sobriety tests and provided a breath sample that yielded a .17% blood alcohol content. He was issued tickets returnable in Ghent Court at a later date.
*Preston Arcuri, 17, of Niverville was charged with speeding in a posted speed zone, operating a motor vehicle out of restrictions and unlawful possession of marijuana by State Police from Kinderhook, November 9. Troopers pulled the teen over on Parker Hall Road, Kinderhook after seeing him speeding on County Route 28. During an interview troopers discovered that both he and a passenger, Stephen James, 18, of Valatie were in possession of marijuana. Both teens were issued tickets to appear in Kinderhook Town Court at a later date.
*Wayne L. Fisher, 56, of Kinderhook was charged with first degree felony aggravated unlicensed operation, driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol content greater than .08% and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, all misdemeanors, by Deputy Louis Bray, November 10 at 5:21 p.m. Mr. Fisher is accused of operating his vehicle on State Route 9 in Kinderhook Village while in an intoxicated condition, with a suspended license and vehicle registration. Mr. Fisher’s breathalyzer test yielded a .12% blood alcohol content. He was issued tickets returnable in Kinderhook Village Court at a later date.
*Conner R. Haughey, 20, of Pittsfield, MA, was charged with speed in zone and unlawful possession of marijuana by State Police from New Lebanon, November 11. Troopers pulled Mr. Haughey over on Route 20, New Lebanon after they saw him speeding in a posted speed zone. They subsequently found him in possession of marijuana. He was issued tickets returnable in New Lebanon Court at a later date.
*Eric R. Coons, 28, of Stockport was charged with driving while intoxicated, operating motor vehicle with blood alcohol content greater than .08%, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration and possession of a loaded weapon in a motor vehicle while using a spotlight, all misdemeanors, by Deputies Jason Garvey and Kris Bauhoff, November 11 at 12:04 a.m. Mr. Coons is accused of being intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle on public highway in Stockport. He provided a breath sample which yielded a .14% blood alcohol content. He was issued appearance tickets returnable in Stockport Court at a later date.
*Devin Munoz, 18, of Germantown was charged with driving while intoxicated by State Police from Livingston following a personal injury accident on County Route 10 in Livingston, November 15 at 6:30 a.m. When troopers arrived at the accident scene, they found an unoccupied vehicle, overturned and off the roadway. They determined that Mr. Munoz had been the operator and went to his residence, where they found him injured as a result of the collision. Further, police say, a minivan in the driveway had been driven from a residence to the area of the accident. Mr. Munoz was taken into custody for drunk driving and taken to St. Francis Hospital for treatment of his injuries. An investigation is continuing and further charges pending.
*Kimberly A. Sagone, 28, of New Lebanon was charged with failure to keep right and unlawful possession of marijuana by State Police from New Lebanon, November 14. Troopers pulled Ms. Sagone over on State Route 20, New Lebanon for failing to keep right and subsequently found to have marijuana. She was issued tickets to appear in New Lebanon Court December 12.
*Alan J. Safran, 25, of Lagrangeville was charged with speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana by State Police from New Lebanon, November 15. Troopers pulled Mr. Safran over on the Taconic State Parkway in Chatham for speeding. He was subsequently found to have marijuana. He was issued tickets to appear in Chatham Town Court December 11.
*Travis P. Ruscio, 30, of New Lebanon was charged with speeding and driving while intoxicated by State Police from New Lebanon, November 17 at 2:19 a.m. Troopers pulled Mr. Ruscio over in New Lebanon for traveling 72 mph in a 55 mph zone. While interviewing the driver, troopers discovered he was intoxicated. He provided a breath sample with a .08% blood alcohol content. He was issued tickets returnable in New Lebanon Court December 5.
*Justin A. Cramer, 19, of Rensselaer was charged with speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation, by State Police from Kinderhook, November 18 at 11:53 p.m. Troopers found Mr. Cramer to have marijuana after they pulled him over for raveling at a high rate of speed. He was issued tickets ordering him to appear in Kinderhook Town Court at a later date.
*Amy L. Teitter, 38, of Rhode Island was charged with driving while intoxicated by State Police from Livingston, November 20. Troopers pulled Ms. Teitter over for a traffic infraction in the Village of Rhinebeck. She provided a breath sample with a .14% blood alcohol content. She was issued tickets returnable in Rhinebeck Village Court December 12.
To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com.
