WESTERLO — Following a devastating traffic accident that has killed at least one person and critically injured three others, Albany County is saying the intersection where it happened is safe. 

On June 30, an out-of-state vehicle carrying six passengers ran through a stop sign and was hit by a tractor trailer at the two-way intersection of county routes 401 and 404 in Westerlo, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple wrote on Facebook, warning travelers of a “high police and emergency medical service presence,” including two medical helicopters.  

The sheriff’s office could not be reached by The Enterprise for more information, but the Times Union has reported that one of the passengers had died. The passenger’s identities were not provided, aside from the fact that three of them were children ranging from 10 to 16 years old. 

Westerlo Supervisor Matthew Kryzak told The Enterprise on Tuesday that the intersection has seen “lots” of problems. 

“It’s the speed of the vehicles traveling up to the intersection,” he said. “401 is 55 mph. When someone runs the stop sign you don’t even have time to touch your brakes.”

New York State Department of Transportation traffic data shows that the intersection is a fairly busy one for the area — Route 404 is classified as a major rural traffic collector while Route 401 is classified as a minor one — with roughly 1,500 cars passing through each day on average. 

DOT data also shows that drivers tend to go slower on Route 401 than on Route 404, with 85 percent of drivers going 50 miles per hour or under on 401, compared to as fast as 68 on Route 404. 

The Enterprise also spoke with a man who declined to give his name but lives near the intersection, who claimed that the intersection has “been a problem for a long time,” and that the stop signs there were crooked and hard to see because of foliage. He said it needed urgent attention for the public’s well-being. 

However, as Enterprise photos show, the stop signs at the intersection are all upright and not obscured by foliage.

“Let’s not wait until someone else gets killed,” the man said. 

He also said that he had spoken with a county worker who was inspecting the intersection around the time of June 24 following an accident the man said he believed was also fatal, and that the worker had indicated the county would address those issues shortly, but hadn’t done so prior to the most recent crash. 

County spokeswoman Mary Rozak told The Enterprise that there was no fatal crash on June 24, and that, instead, “there was a discussion with a nearby resident who asked a county worker about any debris removal near that resident’s driveway which had been an issue for coming and going out of that driveway.”

Albany County Department of Public Works Commissioner Lisa Ramundo told The Enterprise in a statement that the intersection is fully compliant with applicable laws and regulations.

“This is a tragic event and we can assure the public that traffic safety is paramount to Albany County,” she said. “The Albany County Department of Public Works performs traffic safety engineering in compliance with the standards set forth in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).  

“We did not deviate from these standards in our operations as it relates to the intersection of County Route 401 and County Route 404,” she said. “Further, a review of the intersection confirms that the stop sign is visible. Additionally, a ‘stop ahead’ sign is also in place, visible and in compliance with the MUTCD.

“We cannot speak to the specific operations of the motor vehicles involved in the most recent accident at this intersection,” she said. “However, even where there is full compliance with MUTCD, people that operate motor vehicles may place others at risk when failing to comply with the rules and regulations set forth in the New York Vehicle and Traffic law, including driving at excessive speeds and failure to obey traffic control devices. 

“We shall continue to monitor, assess and improve our roads and highways to ensure we are meeting or exceeding safety standards and providing safe passage for all residents and visitors.”