GUILDERLAND — After investigating a Feb. 11 crash where a car leaving the Northway on the ramp to Crossgates Mall careened through the guide rail and off the overpass, landing on the Thruway beneath, the state police arrested the driver on April 25.

State Police of Latham arrested Donald Andrews Jr., 35, of Schenectady, and said in a release, “ The cause of the crash has been determined to be a combination of excessive speed and Andrews’s alleged impairment by drugs and alcohol.”

The arrest has become a political cudgel as on April 30 Schenectady’s Republican chairman, Tom Kennedy, put out a joint release with GOP State Senate candidate Ted Danz, who is running against Democrat Patricia Fahy for the seat being vacated by Neil Breslin on “the disastrous impacts of crime friendly policies the Democrats have been ramming through in Albany over the last several years.”

Coincidentally on April 30, it was reported that the Justice Department plans to recommend easing federal restrictions on marijuana.

The local release notes that Andrews owns the first cannabis shop to open in the Capital Region, in Schenectady, and criticizes the licensing of pot shops going to people who had formerly been arrested on marijuana charges.

The release then veers from opinion to disinformation as Danz says, “Pat Fahy made Mr. Andrews the poster boy of marijuana, gifting him a vast head start above any other cannabis shop owner netting him hundreds of thousands of dollars before law-abiding citizens could earn an honest dime …. Now thanks to Fahy’s support of criminals, a repeat offender has once again victimized and injured innocent members of society.”

Fahy responded incredulously, “He’s trying to blame me for this outrageous accident?”

She went on, “Impaired driving is impaired driving.”

After reading the release, Fahy emailed The Enterprise, “It’s a bit jaw-dropping to see how distorted my record could be on this. I would have no role in who is chosen for cannabis licenses and I’ve never heard of this man prior to his accident. It’s a true distortion.”

Fahy noted that, when she spoke on the Assembly floor three years ago about legalizing cannabis, she had two primary concerns: access and impaired driving.

Fahy said she has been consistently aggressive on the need to crack down on impaired driving, citing a recent rally, and is currently the co-sponsor of a bill with “huge bipartisan support … to go after any type of impaired driving.”

Fahy concluded, “I have zero tolerance for impaired driving.”

The crash

On Feb. 11, an SUV was traveling north in one of the two lanes where Andrews’s car landed and, when it struck the car, turned over, according to a February press release from the state police.

Four people were in the SUV and four people were in Andrews’s car. All eight were taken to Albany Medical Center — three with serious injuries, listed in critical condition.

“To my knowledge there has not been a similar crash in that area,” Trooper Stephanie O’Neil told The Enterprise in February.

This week, Andrews was charged with four felony counts — aggravated vehicular assault and three counts of second-degree assault — and 10 misdemeanor counts: four counts of third-degree assault, four counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

He was also charged with driving while ability impaired — combined influence of drugs and alcohol and with numerous additional Vehicle and Traffic Law violations.