T IMES
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 29, No 48
3
NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 5, 2017
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SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
Driver plows into Benkard Ave. home
State
investigating
in wake of
cosmetics
plant fire
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Photos by Carl Aiello
Firefighters secure the porch of a home at the intersection of Avoca St and Benkard Ave Sunday (top) after a pickup truck (below)
plowed through a stop sign, striking the silver vehicle and the house.
A driver crashed into a home on
Benkard Avenue on Sunday, first sailing
through a stop sign and hitting another
vehicle. The truck eventually veered
onto the sidewalk and rammed into a
porch.
According to City of Newburgh
Police, a motorist driving a 2004 Dodge
pickup truck was traveling southbound
on Avoca Street when they failed to
stop at the stop sign. The pickup truck
crashed into another vehicle traveling
eastbound on Benkard Avenue, and
then plowed into a porch at 129 Benkard
Avenue.
Police reported several parked vehicles
were also damaged in the crash. The
accident took place at approximately
12:30 p.m. “The driver of the Dodge
was issued a traffic ticket for failing to
stop at the posted stop sign,” City of
Newburgh Police Detective Lieutenant
Joseph Burns said in an email Monday.
One of the drivers was transported
to St. Luke’s Cornwell Hospital for
neck pain, he said. There were no other
reported injuries.
- Shantal Riley
A video of the crash appears on the
Mid Hudson Times Facebook page.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
The state is investigating a deadly fire
at the Verla International cosmetics plant
last week. The blaze followed an explosion
at the Temple Hill Road facility on Nov.
20. Another explosion took place as fire
fighters entered the building a short time
later.
More than 30 people were reported
injured, including eight City of Newburgh
fire fighters. Verla employee William
Huntington, 57, of Newburgh, died in the
fire. The exact cause of his death is still
under investigation.
The cause of the fire had not been
confirmed on Tuesday, however Vails Gate
Fire Department Chief Chris Sweeney said
there doesn’t appear to be any foul play
involved. “It does appear to be accidental
at this point,” Sweeney said Monday. “It is
not suspicious.”
The fire began at about 10:20 a.m. in the
newer section of the facility in the rear of
the building. “The initial explosion started
the fire,” Sweeney said, and firefighters
were already inside the building when
a second explosion took place about
20 minutes later. “Fire fighters were
evacuated after the second explosion.”
The blaze was fought over the course of
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