GUILDERLAND — A police car was hit in a three-car crash in the midst of rush-hour traffic on Route 20 Tuesday night.

The accident, on the town’s major thoroughfare, between Johnston Road and the Crossgates Mall entrance closed that section of Route 20, causing traffic to be re-routed through the mall.

Two Guilderland Police officers were treated for minor injuries at St. Peter’s Hospital after being hit; the driver was removed from his cruiser with the Jaws of Life.

Justin M. Goodman, 19, of Albany, struck 20-year-old Natalia K. Parachini, of Altamont, while driving west and attempting to make a lane change on Western Avenue, police say. Goodman’s car then crossed over in the eastbound lane of traffic and struck a Guilderland Police patrol car, according to the accident report.

Officers Tylor Stevens and Charles Tanner were on routine patrol when Goodman’s vehicle struck the driver’s side of their cruiser, according to Guilderland’s deputy police chief, Carol Lawlor.
"Stevens was driving when they were hit and the air bag was deployed," Lawlor said. "He had to be cut out with the Jaws of Life."
As a result, the patrol car suffered "substantial damage" and both lanes of Western Avenue were shut down, Lawlor told The Enterprise.
The eastbound and westbound lanes were diverted through Crossgates Mall, Lawlor said, adding, "We were able to open up both sides in about an hour." Western Avenue was eventually re-opened one lane at a time, first the westbound lanes, then the eastbound lanes.

Most of the department’s vehicles are sent to Auto Cosmetics in Altamont for repair, Lawlor said.

Stevens and Tanner were released from the hospital with minor injuries, and Goodman and Parachini did not report any injuries resulting from the accident, according to police.

Drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the accident, Lawlor said. The investigation is continuing and vehicle and traffic charges against Goodman are pending.