New Scotland Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, November 3, 2011
Voorheesville man dies after cops abandon chase
By Saranac Hale Spencer
VOORHEESVILLE — David Concordia, 62, died two days after his BMW sedan was hit in Albany by a stolen SUV driven by Jacob Hooper, according to Albany Police.
Concordia, a retired engineer who lived with his family in Voorheesville, had been picking up his son from basketball practice. (See related obituary.)
Police tried to stop Hooper just after 8 p.m. on Sunday but ended up in a chase that they abandoned at the intersection of North Manning and North Main Avenue, according to a release from Albany’s police department. Hooper continued and went through a red light at the intersection of North Main and Western Avenue, broadsiding Concordia’s sedan, it says. Concordia and his 18-year-old son, Patrick Concordia, who sustained minor injuries, had to be extricated from the car by firefighters, according to the release.
The traffic safety division of the department is reconstructing the accident, but Detective James Miller said yesterday that Hooper was driving “well in excess of the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit.” The force of the impact pushed both cars onto the sidewalk, the release says.
The Sport Utility Vehicle that Hooper was driving had been reported as stolen and it had Arizona license plates registered to a different vehicle — the SUV was likely from this area, Miller said.
After the accident, Hooper left the vehicle and ran towards the Price Chopper parking lot on Madison Avenue, so police “set up a perimeter in the backyards bordering Price Chopper. Hooper was caught in the backyard of 690 Morris Street,” the release says.
Hooper has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident, speeding, and running a red light and Miller expects that the case will be handed up to a grand jury for additional charges.
Hooper, 29, of 159 Sheridan Ave. also had a bench warrant from Albany’s criminal court for failing to appear.