Westerlo boy killed in Berne bulldozer accident 

HILLTOWNS — An 8-year-old Westerlo boy was killed Sunday morning, May 17, in an accident involving a bulldozer and an ATV in Berne, Patrol Station Commander J.T. Campbell of the Albany County Sheriff’s Office told The Enterprise.

The man operating the bulldozer at 1353 Thatcher Park Road was in the boy’s family, said Campbell, who did not release names.

The operator had gone missing Sunday morning but was located and brought to a “safe place,” Campbell said; he has not been charged.

Campbell said that a 5-year-old family member witnessed the accident and is now with family.

“This is all still under investigation,” Campbell explained. “We’re not releasing much right now.”

The 8-year-old was a second-grader at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Superintendent Timothy Mundell wrote in a release on Monday. He said that the district’s crisis team and grief counselors are available for anyone who needs them, despite the coronavirus closure of school. ​

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More Hilltowns News

  • The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Board of Education unanimously adopted Superintendent Bonnie Kane’s $24.7 million budget for the 2025-26 school year, which will go to a public vote on May 20. 

  • The Rensselaerville Water and Sewer Advisory Committee is holding a community meeting on Thursday, May 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hilltown Commons Guggenheim Theater to get input on preferred well sites for a new public water system. 

  • Although an old agreement is still in place and would remain so indefinitely, the town of Berne is considering signing a new contract with the cable company, Spectrum, that would keep the franchise fee the town receives from the company the same but would remove an obligation for Spectrum to build new infrastructure in areas that meet a household-density threshold. 

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