Photos: Three-Vehicle Smash-up
A quiet Saturday in the sleepy village of Altamont was marred when, police say, the driver of a pickup ran a stop sign, causing a three-vehicle crash.
The Enterprise — James E. Gardner
Moments after a crash, W. C. Jr. Lounsbury, 20, of Duanesburg, looks under the hood of his red 1996 Ford Ranger pickup while Matt Hanzalik, with the Guilderland Police, walks toward the center of the intersection of Maple and Western avenues in Altamont as village resident Dick Spadaro crosses the street. According to Altamont Police Officer Patrick Thomas, who arrived at the scene at 12:27 p.m. Saturday, July 19, a minute after the call went out, Lounsbury caused the accident when he was driving south on Maple toward the village and did not stop. “He said he didn’t know there was a stop sign and went right through,” said Thomas. Lounsbury was ticketed for failure to stop at the sign. The Altamont Fire Department directed traffic and cleaned up spills and broken glass afterward.
The Enterprise — James E. Gardner
Accident aftermath: The gray 2009 Honda, at right, was heading up the hill on Western Avenue when it was struck by a pickup that didn’t stop at the sign on Maple, according to Officer Patrick Thomas; the blue four-door Honda sedan, at center, was coming down the hill when those two vehicles collided and the gray Honda slid into the blue Honda. Thomas is interviewing the driver of the gray Honda, Peter Brown, 66, of Schenectady, while Brown’s wife lies in the foreground. She was a passenger in the gray Honda, Thomas said, and her shoulder was bruised. She was transported to St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany by Western Turnpike Rescue Squad and was the only injured party in the three-vehicle accident. The blue Honda was driven by Lisa Pitkin, 52, of Altamont. All three vehicles were towed afterward by Hitmans Towing of Knox.