East Fishkill (Dutchess) Fatal MVA 02-01-08

[Beekman 5]

Date: 2/1/08

Time: 1030

Location: Rt 376 / Soafe's (sp?) Terr

Frequency: DC911, FG 9

Units Operating: East Fishkill, Mobile Life, New Hackensack

Description Of Incident: MVA w/ Pin, Snowplow involved, multiple uncons patients

Writer: 129

1030; EFFD Captain on scene w. multiple uncon patients,confirmed pin

1031; All avail fire police, New Hackensack w/ rescue to scene fpr additonal Hurst Tool

1033; EFFD Command request 3rd ALS unit to scene

1035; EFFD Command request additonal tones for all avail extrication personell to scene

1038; EFFD Command reports 4 patients pinned in car

1100; EFFD Command reports 2 transported, 3rd MLSS in service, not needed at scene, EFFD Rescue taking up and will reloctae to Station 1, at that time, release NKFD

3 dead in collision on Route 376

One child killed; infant survivor taken to hospital

Greg Marano and Alice Hunt

Poughkeepsie Journal

EAST FISHKILL — Three people, including one child, have been killed in a crash on Route 376 in which their Chevy Malibu slammed into a Town of East Fishkill Highway Department truck, police said.

According to East Fishkill Police Chief Brian Nichols, the car was traveling south on Route 376 around 10:30 a.m., when it lost control near the Probst Terrace intersection. It was then hit by a Town of East Fishkill highway vehicle, which was traveling north.

No one was ejected from the vehicles.

"It's a pretty devastating accident," Nicols said.

The surviving infant was taken via ambulance to Saint Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, where the baby was stabilized. The baby is now being transported via ambulance to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, said Saint Francis Hospital spokesman Larry Hughes. The sex of the baby has not been made public.

The driver of the highway department vehicle was not transfered to the hospital, Hughes said.

Giant tarps are now blocking the accident from view, and will remain up until the bodies are removed from the vehicle. Route 376 is closed in this area. Traffic is being diverted onto Saddleridge and Kent roads. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.

Nicols said the scene has been emotional for the police and emergency personnel.

"We have a lot of emergency services personnel that are having trouble," he said.

The state Department of Transportation worked to straighten out a curve in Route 376 between Kent Road and Probst Terrace earlier this decade. The work was completed in September 2001.

While the work did help, it’s still a dangerous area, said Janet McHugh, who lives on Probst Terrace.

"This corner is known for terrible accidents," she said. McHugh herself had been in one at the same spot two years ago.

The road doesn't appear to twisty looking at it, she said, but you can feel the curve when you're driving it.

The intersection is also the site of a school bus stop, McHugh said.

"Thank God there was no school today," she said. "It's a very sad situation, but it could have been even worse if kids were standing there."