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Two Hurt in Pittsfield Motorcycle Crash
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two people were taken to Berkshire Medical Center after a motorcycle accident on Linden Street.
Police said at about 10:45 p.m. the motorcycle crashed in front of 225 Linden Street. The driver and a passenger were transported to the hospital for what police describe as minor injuries.
The road was closed for about 20 minutes from King Street to Onota Street.
PIttsfield Police responded to report of motorcycle accident in front of 225 Linden Street at 2245hrs. Driver and passenger transported to BMC with what appears to be minor injuries. Road was closed for approximately 20 mins, from King St to Onota St. Lt. Jeffrey Bradford. pic.twitter.com/scDaIIFq6o
— Pittsfield Police (@PittsfieldPD) May 10, 2019
Four Arrested In North Adams Drug Raid
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Berkshire County Crime Task Force arrested four people in a drug raid Monday afternoon.
The District Attorney's office said Anthony Dobbins, 46, Brian Mullen, 53, and Samantha Lloyd, 32, of North Adams and Mark Tanguay, 36, of Williamstown were all arrested while executing warrants on a home and a vehicle. The District Attorney's Office said 141 grams of cocaine were seized as part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking.
Dobbins and Mullen were charged with trafficking in cocaine at an arraignment Wednesday in Northern Berkshire District Court and held without bail pending a dangerous hearing. Lloyd and Tanguay were charged with possession of crack cocaine and released pending a future court date.
The District Attorney's Office said detectives had identified Dobbins had been using Mullen's home at 152 Harding Avenue as a base to store and distribute crack cocaine during an "extensive" investigation.
At about 3 p.m, on Monday, Police observed Dobbins leaving Mullen's home in a BMW and stopped the vehicle on North Street. Detectives allegedly found crack cocaine and $998 in cash and placed him under arrest. Mullen was arrested when detectives executed a search warrant on his home and allegedly found more than 100 grams of cocaine. Lloyd and Tanguay were also arrested at the home.
"Thanks to the diligence of North Adams police officers and Berkshire County Crime Task Force detectives, a significant amount of crack cocaine has been removed from North Adams," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said in a prepared statement.
"We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their efforts and are actively working with the Berkshire County Drug Court, local government and community organizations to provide people struggling with substance use disorder the hope and help that they need to recover. We are working to address both the supply side and the demand side of the drug problem here in Berkshire County."
Bennington College Fire Causes $250K in Damages
There is currently a fire in the Barn, which houses classes and offices. The building has been evacuated, and the fire department is on scene. There are no student, faculty, or staff injuries. More information to come via this channel. pic.twitter.com/t4nKjZkjqG
— Bennington College (@AtBennington) April 30, 2019
BENNINGTON, Vt. — A fire on Tuesday afternoon caused $250,000 worth of damage to a building at Bennington College.
According to state police, the fire was reported at about 1 p.m. at the North Bennington campus from the administrative offices. The staff was alerted to the fire by a contractor who was performing work on the outside of the building.
The North Bennington Fire Department was alerted and responded to the scene. Because of the amount of smoke and fire upon arrival, additional assistance was requested and members of the following departments responded: Bennington, Bennington Rural and Shaftsbury and New York State's Hoosick Falls and North Hoosick.
Bennington College security and firefighters were able to evacuate everyone safely and firefighters were able to prevent extensive damage or spread of the fire. No injuries were reported.
North Bennington Fire Chief Keith Cross requested the assistance of the state Department of Public Safety's Fire and Explosions Investigation Unit to assist in confirming the origin and cause for the fire. Members of this team immediately responded to examine the scene.
The investigators were State Police Det. Sgt. Steven Otis and Assistant State Fire Marshal Tim Angell of the Division of Fire Safety.
As a result of the examination, this fire is being classified as accidental. There were two potential electrical causes: one is the general state of the wiring in the very old farm building that had been converted to office space and the second, the ongoing contractual work that had been on the exterior of this building for the past two weeks included nailing replacement siding and door and window trim.
The fire originated on the interior of the walls on the east side of the building and extended through the balloon-frame construction and into the attic/crawl space, which was extensively damaged. There had been electrical issues reported during the day by staff that included flickering lights and a humming or beehive like sounds coming from the exterior wall.
Otis and Angell recommended that when you experience an electrical anomaly or hear strange sounds coming from within a wall that has electricity running through it that you contact an electrician, building maintenance or electrical engineer to diagnose any possible issues. This could save lives and or prevent extensive damage to the structure. These issues can often be isolated simply by shutting off the breaker to an affected area until it can be properly diagnosed or inspected.
Great Barrington Police Respond to Fatal Hunting Incident
Update at 6:30 p.m. with identification and quote:
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — A 44-year-old Pittsfield man was killed on Saturday during what police say was a hunting accident.
Christopher Puntin had been participating in a youth turkey hunt with two other adults and a juvenile.
According to Chief William Walsh, Police Officers Jonathan Finnerty and Kristopher Balestro, firefighter and EMTs responded about noon to a report of a hunting incident in a wooded area on Monument Valley Road and located the victim.
Puntin sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
An initial police investigation suggests the incident was an accident.
"This is a tragic situation for all involved," Chief William Walsh said. "I'd like to commend the efforts of all responders under the command of Sgt. Adam Carlotto and Sgt. Paul Storti on a very difficult call."
Walsh also praised the assistance police received Saturday from the Fire Department and the Southern Berkshire Ambulance Squad Saturday.
This incident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts Environmental Police and State Police detectives assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office and Great Barrington Police.
First-Responders Deal With Multi-Vehicle Accidents in Adams, North Adams
A three-car accident forced detours for drivers heading north on Commercial Street.
The first occurred about 4 p.m. in front of the McDonald's restaurant in Adams and involved three motor vehicles headed north on Commercial Street leading up to the light.
The vehicles were a gray Ford 150 extend cab, a dark blue Chevrolet Traverse sport utility vehicle and a gray Jeep Renegade sedan, in that order.
The truck incurred damage to its front end, knocking off the front bumper; the SUV's rear hatch was dented in and it received minor damage to its front end; the Jeep's rear bumper and hatchback was damaged. Two people were taken from the scene by ambulance, including the driver of the SUV whom firefighters and EMTs took some time to remove from the vehicle.
The truck was towed by Al's Service Center and the SUV by Dean's Repair Shop. Police, firefighters, Adams Ambulance and North Berkshire EMS responded to the scene. Traffic was diverted for nearly an hour with north bound vehicles detoured through the Hoosac Valley Elementary School driveway to Liberty Street.
In North Adams, a van and a coupe collided on Ashland Street in front of Pizza Works at about 4:43 p.m. The blue Dodge van appeared to be exiting the pizzeria parking lot and the Chevrolet Cavalier was southbound. Both vehicles incurred significant front-end damage to no appeared to be injured.
The van was towed by Cariddi Auto and the Chevy by Mohawk Auto Wrecking. City police and firefighters along with North Berkshire EMS responded to the scene. Traffic was diverted between Blackinton Avenue and Davenport Street for about 40 minutes.
