Mount Greylock Bus Hit on Field Trip; No Injuries, Damage
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A school bus carrying Mount Greylock Regional School students was involved in an accident in New York State on Tuesday.
WNYT Channel 13 reported that the bus carrying 43 eighth-graders to the battlefield at Saratoga National Historical Park collided with a truck on Stover Road in Valley Falls, N.Y.
According to student newspaper The Greylock Echo, it was one of two buses being used to transport the school's eighth grade on a field trip.
The bus was "swiped by a truck while crossing an intersection" shortly before 11 a.m., the Echo reported, and that damage was minimal.
The students and staff were cleared by emergency responders while the first bus transported its passenger to the battlefield, about 10 or 20 minutes away. It then returned to pick up the others.
Dufour Bus Co., which contracts with Mount Greylock, sent a new bus for the return trip.
"Some students were jostled, and certainly some kids had heightened levels of anxiety, but no one was hurt," Mount Greylock Principal Mary MacDonald said on Tuesday evening.
MacDonald said one of the chaperones on the trip, a nurse, checked out the students and found that they were OK before EMTs arrived at the scene.
Word of the fender-bender first reached Williamstown when students on the trip began sending texts to their parents. School Vice Principal Jacob Schutz sent an email to all of the families involved shortly thereafter.
They only downside of the incident was that half the students on the trip had their visit to the battleground cut short. "But they still had the experience," MacDonald said.
Motor Vehicle Catches Fire After Williamstown Crash
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
A motor vehicle that slammed into utility pole on Syndicate Road ignited but the occupant were not seriously injured.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Syndicate Road was closed briefly on Thursday evening after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole near the intersection with North Street (Route 7).
Thomas B. Bourn of Henderson Road was cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding after hitting the pole while attempting to make a turn onto Syndicate Road from the southbound lane of North Street, Williamstown Police Officer Michael Ziemba said on Friday.
Bourn and his one passenger were evaluated by personnel from Village Ambulance, treated for minor injuries and released at the scene, Ziemba said.
The accident occurred at 5:42 p.m. Thursday.
Bourn's vehicle ignited and burned after impact with the utility pole, which was bent at its base. Char marks were visible about two-thirds of the way up the pole.
Williamstown Fire Department personnel responded to the scene.
Utility crews were on the scene until 3:30 a.m. Friday replacing the pole.
Syndicate Road was reopened but was closed again on Friday morning for an unrelated issue connected to a water main, Ziemba said.
Ziemba said he did not believe any residents lost electricity service as a result of the accident. A small portion of nearby Williams College was affected, he said. National Grid personnel were able to quickly restore service.
Williamstown Fire Destroys Garage
Staff Reports
Firefighters contain a structure fire on Hancock Road on Thursday afternoon.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A fire destroyed a large garage at 1352 Hancock Road on Thursday afternoon.
Numerous firefighters from several fire departments aided Williamstown fire crews in preventing the blaze from spreading.
The fire began sometime after noon. Hancock also responded to the scene as did Pownal and Pownal Valley fire departments from Vermont; Clarksburg Fire Department covered the station. Lanesborough firefighters were also at the scene.
No one was injured but equipment inside the metal garage was destroyed. According to documents in the Registry of Deeds, the property is owned by Michael Patten. The cause was under investigation.
North Berkshire Man Arrested in Killing of Former County Resident
Staff Reports
WILIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A North Adams man was arrested Thursday night in relation to the homicide of a former Berkshire County resident in Tennessee.
Anthony Hardaway, 34, who also goes by "Toney" or "Tone," is wanted in connection to the shooting of Perry Folk of Johnson City, Tenn.
According to media reports, Folk and Hardaway were believed to know each other. Folk, 38, was found shot to death in the parking lot of the Roadrunner Market convenience store in Johnson City on the night of Feb. 18. He had no identification on him at the time but was identified through fingerprints.
Police were searching for someone in a dark-colored vehicle who could be seen on video surveillance leaving the scene. According to the Johnson City Press, police said there were "numerous witnesses" at the store but no one saw what immediately led to the shooting.
Hardaway was taken into custody without incident by the Berkshire County Special Response Team and state police at a residence in Williamstown. He was tracked by a multi-agency investigation involving the Massachusetts State Police, FBI, police from Williamstown, Pittsfield and the Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force, and police in Johnson City.
The investigation that led to his arrest was additionally assisted by intelligence gathered by the Troop B Community Action Team for Berkshire County, a uniformed patrol unit.
Hardaway's arraignment as a fugitive from justice and his eventual rendition to Tennessee is being handled by the Berkshire County district attorney's office.
No Injuries in Route 7 Collision at Mount Greylock School
Staff Reports
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — No one was injured in a Friday morning accident on Cold Spring Road (Route 7) at the entrance to Mount Greylock Regional School.
Williamstown Police responded to the accident at 7:38 on Friday, Dec. 12.
A vehicle exiting the parking lot did not see a vehicle driving south on Cold Spring Road, according to Police Chief Kyle Johnson.
Johnson said the intersection, at the top of a hill with limited visibility of Route 7 traffic in both directions, is not particularly prone to accidents.
"Very infrequent, even when you consider the amount of cars that go in and out of there 180 days a year," he said when asked to characterize the frequency of incidents at the site.
One of the cars involved in Friday's accident was towed away from the scene. The other was drivable.
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A motor vehicle that slammed into utility pole on Syndicate Road ignited but the occupant were not seriously injured.
Firefighters contain a structure fire on Hancock Road on Thursday afternoon.
