KNOX — A collision of a car and a motorcycle in Knox on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 31, has left the motorcycle driver dead and his passenger injured.

According to Knox Volunteer Fire Company Chief Bill Vinson, a motorcycle carrying a driver and a passenger collided with a car at around 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Thompsons Lake Road and Old Stage Road, a triangular-shaped intersection in the southeast corner of the town.

“There is a curve there, but it’s not drastically sharp,” said Vinson.

The motorcycle driver was killed in the accident, and his passenger was airlifted to Albany Medical Center, he said.

“They were talking to her as they were carrying her to the helicopter,” said Vinson, of the motorcycle passenger, who was asked questions such as what day it was or what season it is.

The car’s driver, said Vinson, was not injured.

“She was OK,” said Vinson, of the driver. “She was banged up, but all the airbags in her car deployed.”

Lois Schroeder, a 66-year-old Guilderland woman, was driving her car north on Thompsons Lake Road when the southbound motorcycle, driven by Henry Warner, a 28-year-old Delanson man, crossed the double-yellow line as it went around a corner, and collided with the car, according to release from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Warner worked in sales for Spectrum, and enjoyed fishing, kayaking, and music. (See related obituary.)

The passenger, a 26-year-old woman from the Cobleskill area, was ejected from the motorcycle. Sheriff’s deputies were called in at about 4:35 p.m., according to the release, and determined the events from witness accounts and an investigation.

The injured women went into a surgical intensive-care unit and is currently in stable condition, said Albany County Sheriff’s Inspector Charles Higgins.

It was later determined that Warner was "at fault" in the accident, said Sheriff's Investigator Amy Kowalski.

At the time, the Knox Volunteer Fire Company was on standby in Guilderland Center for a fire burning on Meadowdale Road (see related story), said Vinson. The firefighters, who had been called in to be on standby since about 3:20 that afternoon, responded in about seven minutes to the motorcycle accident, he said.

Vinson said the fire company was there generally to supply lights, direct traffic, and also to assist in landing the LifeNet helicopter. The fire company cleared a place for the helicopter to land, and one of the firefighters relayed information on the landing site over the radio to the pilot.

The fire company left the scene at 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 31, Vinson said.

Other agencies at the scene included the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the agency’s emergency medical services; the New York State Police; Helderberg Ambulance; town of Guilderland EMS; the New York State Park Police, the Altamont Fire Department; and the East Berne Volunteer Fire Company, according to the sheriff’s office.

State Trooper Mark Cepiel said that the State Police Troop G collision reconstruction unit arrived on scene around 6 p.m. on the night of Aug. 31 to gather data about the accident. This included taking measurements, observing tire skid marks, and downloading data from vehicle computers, he said. Cepiel said it will likely be months before a conclusion is made on the possible cause of the accident.

Vinson said that he could not recall the last time that there was a similar accident in Knox. There was a motorcycle accident in Clarksville, however, on Aug. 16 that left the driver seriously injured after he collided with a car at an intersection where, his companion said, the stop sign was hidden by branches.

“It’s been awhile that we had to set up something like this,” Vinson said, of arranging an air lift.