Home About Archives RSS Feed

Six Facing Charges For Wind Farm Copper Theft

 

 

     

Driver in Dead Man's Curve Crash Facing Charges

Staff ReportsiBerkshires

The driver of the tractor-trailer that crashed last week is facing multiple charges.

FLORIDA, Mass. — The driver of a tractor-trailer that flipped over on Dead Man's Curve last Wednesday is facing multiple charges and the loss of his commercial driver's license.

Clement Leslie, 51, of Vineland, N.J., is still at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he is expected to undergo another surgery on Thursday.

State Trooper David McKearney of the Cheshire Barracks said Wednesday that he had served Leslie at the hospital with charges of operating to endanger, failure to stay within marked lanes and speeding.

"We believe he was reading a magazine while he was driving," he said. McKearney said Leslie told him that he took the turn too fast.

The accident is still under investigation.

The accident occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on April 11 and closed the state highway between Whitcomb Hill Road and Charlement until 2 the following morning. The load of lime Leslie was hauling was dumped across the steep incline above the Cold River when the truck crashed onto the guardrails. It took more than an hour to extricate Leslie from his crushed cab.  

McKearney, who has a background in federal and state trucking regulations, said Leslie was also in violation of the commercial vehicle enforcement section of federal truck laws. Some were mechanical issues with the truck that "were not contributory to the accident," said McKearney.

"The most important violation is the 14-hour rule," he said. Drivers by law are not allowed to drive beyond the 14th-hour of coming on duty, which for Clement was 2:30 p.m. "He should not have been on the road."

Leslie also failed to take a Breathalyzer within eight hours or a drug test within 32 hours of the accident, as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Leslie was driving for Paladino Farms of Rosenhayn, N.J. McKearney said they would move to immediately suspend his CDL license out of New Jersey.  

"We're going to do every thing we can to keep him from driving again," said the trooper.

 

     

Tractor-Trailer Accident Closes Route 2; Driver Taken to BMC

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires

A tractor-trailer accident on Route 2 sent the driver to BMC and closed the road for several hours.

Update: The driver, Clement Leslie, 51, of Vineland, N.J., was in guarded condition at BMC.

Update: Route 2 was still closed as of 11:30 p.m. Traffic was being diverted down Whitcomb Hill Road to Zoar Road.

FLORIDA, Mass. — A tractor-trailer crash along the infamous Dead Man's Curve on Route 2 left the driver trapped for more than an hour and dumped hundreds of pounds of lime across the steep incline above the Cold River.

The state highway was closed shortly before 5 p.m. from South County Road to Charlemont and was expected to be shut down until later Wednesday night.

The driver of the truck, who has not been identified, was taken by North Adams Ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

"He lost control coming down the hill," said Florida Fire Chief Michael Bedini. "He's lucky to be alive.

"We used the Jaws of Life and the wreckers to get where we had to go."

The truck was eastbound on the steep curving section of the highway went the driver apparently lost control coming around the curves and flipped the truck onto the guardrails. The cab of the truck was situated on its side in a way that the driver's head was just past the guardrail and his body still seat-belted in the cab.

Joseph Dean of Dean's Towing positioned two of his large wreckers with cables attached to the truck's underside while emergency responders jacked up the cab an inch or two at a time until they could cut away the driver's seat and pull him out. The driver was reportedly alert and speaking to rescuers during; state police reported that he did not have life-threatening injuries.

State police investigators were at the scene and pointed to the cab's destroyed dashboard and broken off brake controls. The truck apparently sliced through a section of the guardrails before coming to rest on top them.

Clarksburg Fire Department also responded to the scene.

The semi is owned by Paladino Farms of Rosenhayn, N.J., which transports agricultural, fuel and building supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The trailer was carrying pallets of lime, bagged as ViCALity Albaglos, a product of Specialty Minerals in Adams. Dean said the trailer was destroyed and would have to be removed in pieces.

While the dangerous curve has seen plenty of crashes in the past, firefighters at the scene couldn't think of one this significant in the last few years. "It's been a long time since we had an accident up here," said Bedini. 

This is the second significant accident in three weeks on the steep state highway. On March 25, two tractor-trailers collided head-on in North Adams when one lost its brakes coming down the west side of the Mohawk Trail. Both drivers survived the crash.

 

 

 

 

 

     

Florida Crash Turns Fatal

Staff Reports

Updated May 31, 2010, at 9:50 p.m.; edited and rewritten throughout.

FLORIDA, Mass. —  An accident early Saturday evening has resulted in the death of a Connecticut woman.

A state police spokesman said Hazel Lavallee, 71, of Enfield, Conn., died Monday morning of injuries sustained in the single-car crash.

Lavallee was a passenger in the 2004 Hyundai Sonata driven by her husband, Richard Lavallee, also 71. Both Lavallees were airlifted to Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center on Saturday night with severe injuries.

The single-car crash occurred around 6 p.m. across the from the Whitcomb Summit on the Mohawk Trail.

The Lavallees were eastbound on Route 2 when the he apparently lost control of car and veered off the road, shearing off a utility pole and flipping the car onto the driver's side. The vehicle came to rest in the grassy glade across the highway from the Whitcomb Summit Motel.

The couple were the only occupants and were taken to North Adams Regional Hospital; from there they were airlifted to Albany.

A state police spokesman said he was not aware if Lavallee had been moved from Albany since Saturday.  He confirmed that there had been a report of an erratic driver just four minutes before the crash.

The accident is under investigation by state police.

What is left of the utility is above. Right, emergency responders try to push over the car after the passengers were transported to the hospital.

 

 

Tags: accident, motor vehicle, injuries, fatal      
Page 2 of 2 1  2  

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
WWII Soldier Coming Home Friday
Dalton Fire District Voters Approve Purchase of Ambulance
North Adams Holiday Music Tour
Berkshire High Schools Release Statement on Fan Behavior at Athletic Events
Snow Advisory Called for Berkshires
Pittsfield's Tavern at The A Will Seek New Operators
'Today' Show Visiting Stockbridge
Clark Art Free Gallery Tours for Parents, Infants
Family Storytelling at the Berkshire Athenaeum
BRTA Awarded Grant to Expand Service Area

Police Logs

Pittsfield Police

North Adams

Crimewatch Links

North Adams CrimeWatch

Stamford/Clarksburg CrimeWatch

Pittsfield CrimeWatch

Emergency: 911
Adams 413-743-1212
Clarksburg 413-663-7795
Cheshire 413-743-1501
Dalton 413-684-0300
Great Barrington 413-528-0306
Lanesborough 413-443-4107
Lee 413-243-2100
Lenox 413-637-2346
North Adams 413-664-4944
Pittsfield 413-448-9700
Richmond 413-698-3315
Stockbridge 413-298-4179
Williamstown 413-458-5733
West Stockbridge 413-232-7938
State Police  
Cheshire Barracks
413-743-
4700
Lee Barracks 413-243-0600
Shaftsbury, Vt., Barracks 802-442-3263

 



Categories:
Adams (92)
Alford (0)
Becket (8)
Cheshire (23)
Clarksburg (41)
Dalton (6)
Egremont (2)
Florida (9)
Great Barrington (34)
Hancock (5)
Hinsdale (5)
Lanesborough (30)
Lee (14)
Lenox (11)
Monterey (0)
Mount Washington (1)
New Ashford (4)
New Marlborough (2)
North Adams (248)
Otis (2)
Peru (3)
Pittsfield (318)
Pownal (16)
Readsboro (17)
Richmond (10)
Sandisfield (5)
Savoy (6)
Sheffield (5)
Stamford (31)
State (1)
Stockbridge (6)
Tyringham (1)
Washington (1)
West Stockbridge (1)
Williamstown (79)
Windsor (3)
Archives:
Tags:
Missing Persons Motor Vehicle Crime Watch Fire Armed Robbery Murder Mvi Hit & Run Veremko Drugs Motorcycles Burglary Shooting Structure Fire Injuries Fatal Larceny Vehicle Buglaries Homicide Search & Rescue Stabbing Motor Vehicle Accident Heroin Rape Drug Charges Accident Break-ins Pedestrians Assaults Robbery Search Fraud Police Investigation Assault
Popular Entries:
Superior Court Briefs: March 14 - March 16
Fatal Accident Closes Route 8 in Adams
Superior Court Briefs: May 2 - May 6
Woman Pleads Guilty in Sandisfield Fatal Crash
Superior Court Briefs: March 28 - March 31
Pittsfield Woman Pleads Guilty in Husband's Slaying
Superior Court Briefs: May 18 - 19
Superior Court Briefs: March 23 - March 24
Superior Court Briefs: March 8 - March 11
New Ashford Crash Turns Fatal for Williamstown Man
Recent Entries:
State Police Bust $3M Illegal Pot Growing Operation in Savoy
First-Responders Searching for Lost Hiker on Mount Greylock
Pittsfield Driver Injured in Elm Street Accident
North Adams Police Investigate Possible Shooting Incident
Williamstown Police Looking into Cemetery Vandalism
Florida Woman Dies in Motorcycle Accident
Pittsfield Fire Responds to Kitchen Blaze
Juvenile Arrested in North Adams Shooting
North Adams Police Seeking Information on Shooting Incident
Pittsfield Police Seek Information on Sunday Night Shootings