Trooper at fault in crash at routes 20 and 158  

The Enterprise — Elizabeth Floyd Mair

A State Trooper’s patrol car — with a smashed front end and airbags deployed inside — is hauled away late Thursday afternoon, Feb. 28, from the site of a crash at the intersection of routes 158 and 20. The crash was caused by the Trooper running a run light, state police say.

GUILDERLAND — While driving his marked patrol car, State Trooper Kaleb Gohlke was at fault in a two-vehicle collision Thursday afternoon, Feb. 28, according to state police spokeswoman Trooper Kerra Burns.

Burns outlined the events this way: The accident occurred at about 3:15 p.m. Gohlke was traveling east on Route 20 when he failed to stop at the red light at the intersection of routes 20 and 158. As he entered the intersection, his marked car was struck on the passenger side by a vehicle headed north on Route 158, driven by Shane Lamoree, 32, of Schenectady.

Lamoree was not injured. Gohlke sustained a minor hand injury and was taken to Albany Medical Center.

The trooper was not in emergency operation at the time of the collision, Burns said.

The accident is being investigated by the state police, Burns said. She declined to comment on whether that posed any conflict of interest or on whether the Trooper would be disciplined.

More Guilderland News

  • “I’m relieved for it to have ended as peacefully as it did but have concern for his behavior,” said Guilderland Police Lieutenant Joe DeVoe who was on the scene for the entire incident. “He could have caused serious injury or death. Bullets were going into other rooms. I’m just thankful our quick responses aided in ending this peacefully.”

  • “As they say, you can’t take things with you, but you can always leave them in a better state than you found them, so this is our way of doing that,” said Bryan Swift, explaining why he and his wife took the risk of buying the land along with neighbors, knowing full well they will not get back all of what they paid for it.

  • After stepping back into the role of police chief while the village finds a replacement for former chief Jason Johnston, Todd Pucci, who had retired from the position in 2021, spoke with The Enterprise about what qualities the village should look for in a new leader for the department. 

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.