An tragic unfortunate incident occurred this past Friday in the Town of Fallsburg, which many community organizations and local officials feel must be publicly addressed, so that such an incident can be avoided in the future.
At approximetly 6:15AM on Friday morning, a person driving a bicycle along Route 42 came across a dead body lying on the side of the roadway. The person called 911, and the Fallsburg Police arrived on the scene.
An intense investigation was launched by the Fallsburg PD, and detectives found evidence leading them to believe that the man was struck by a passing vehicle sometime between 1 and 2AM – with the driver along with the vehicle leaving the scene.
It was a tragic accident indeed, but by the driver choosing to leave the scene, the incident turned into an unfortunate fiasco which could have been easily avoidable.
Detectives working aggressively on the case, had sufficient evidence to make an arrest, and early Friday morning arrested a man whom they believe was the driver of the vehicle in question.
During questioning, the driver of the vehicle told police he was unaware that he had struck a pedestrian, but rather thought he had struck a deer on the roadway.
Due to the July 4th Weekend, a judge was unavailable to see the driver, and the dreaded thought of a Frum man spending Shabbos in the Sullivan County Jail set in.
Numerous Askonim – including Special Assistant to the Superintendent of the New York State Police Rabbi Bernard Freilich, representatives of Misaskim – along with the newly appointed Fallsburg Police Chief Simmie Williams – began diligently working to resolve the situation.
After much hard work, and the personal involvement of Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff – along with Undersheriff Eric Chaboty – they were able to secure his release on Friday afternoon in time for Shabbos.
YWN spoke with the Fallsburg Police Chief Williams, who explained that although a tragic death occurred, people must be made aware of a few points which can save innocent people much hardship.
#1- “If you are involved in an accident, you MUST stop and wait for the police. THIS INCLUDES HITTING A DEER! There are no exceptions to this law. This was nothing more than an accident”, the chief told YWN.
“All that was needed was a police report, and questioning, and he would have been on his way. Accidents unfortunately happen, and that’s why they are called accidents. But leaving the scene is not an accident, and people must understand that if they are involved in an accident they MUST call and await the arrival of the police.”
#2- “This tragic incident should be a wake-up call for the many folks who do their exercise, or take leisure-strolls along the country roads. This is not NYC, and there are no sidewalks,” Williams said. “People need to use extreme caution while walking on roads, and reflectors should be worn during early morning, and evening hours”.
“Unfortunately, drivers are constantly swerving to avoid pedestrians walking carelessly on the roadways – and not on the shoulders where they belong”.
#3- “Drivers should be extra cautious for pedestrians walking along the roadways, and should always maintain the posted speed limits.”
“I’ve instructed my officers to enforce the speed limits, and ‘radar cars’ are out there on patrol at all times.
Chief Williams then wished everyone in the Fallsburg area a safe and relaxing summer, and said he looks forward to working hand in hand with the summer community.
It is interesting to note, that during this entire ordeal, the police chief kept his previously scheduled meeting with representatives from Catskills Hatzolah, Misaskim, Rabbi Bernard Freilich and other community leaders – to ensure a great working relationship between the Fallsburg PD and the Jewish Community.
YWN wishes Fallsburg Police Chief much success in his new position – which he earned after working diligently for the past 20 years at the Fallsburg PD.
(Yehuda Drudgestein – Sullivan County News Desk)
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29 Responses
Hashem yerachem!
i was in the country this shabbos and driving around was really imposible ppl walk in OUR way were we drive they dont care cuz they have got to loose afew lb. ppl pls if you really want to walk then walk at day light when we drivers can see you. wishing everyone a safe and healthy summer
ps can everyone try not to speed its not worth it we all want to go home at nite
I don’t understand why ppl have to stroll on the roads. let them power walk around the bungalow colony
The aggresive driving in the mountains is the problem. The sound of blaring horns rivals a city street.
twice on one road this past sunday there were men hitching once it was dark i did not see them until i was actually passing them and i could have easily killed them if all you are wearing is black and you have black beards how do you expect people to see you
there should be a Kol Korah on people walking roads at night.
one more reason not to go to the mountains…as if we needed any more
gamzultova – You may need a reason. As for the rest of us, we will continue ejoying the country air.
I personally know the person who was driving the vehicle and also know his faimly. There is no way in the world that this person would have not stopped had he known it was a person.This person would not hurt a fly. It was very foggy thursday night. How is someone suppose to know that they must call police for hitting a deer. They found his car friday morning not far from the accident scene. If he wanted to run he had all night to run. He was not running he sincerley thought it was a deer.
I feel terrible for them and hope they get out of this mess real quickly.
My grandson is a deputy sheriff in Indiana (a wonderful boy, heart full of goodness, was not “cut out” for yeshiva and drifted away as the years went by). He visits my wife and I each year in the country (maybe his one “shomer Shabbos” Shabbos each year – he knows, he just doesn’t do * sigh *); last year he gave us the reflective sashes the school crossing guards use, begged us to use them while walking. To humor him, we did, and noticed that cars seemed to be slowing down as they neared us – and we wore them more. We still keep our eyes open when we walk, but we’ve noticed that cars see us sooner and give us more space when we wear the sashes. We felt a little silly the first time we word there these bright green and orange stripes, but now we recommend them to everyone who walks on busy streets.
How is anyone suppose to know about the ‘deer’ rule? Whats with dogs? cats?
coffee room – this “mess” that you speak of is the death of a person who has family members who too are trying to”get OVER of this mess real quickly” Have a little sensitivity and don’t discount the person who died here. This is tragic all around, one for the person who got their life cut short, and one who has to live with the fact they killed someone even if it wasn’t his fault. Both parties have to fix up their act. The drivers have to stop using the roads as a race course, and stop passing on the shoulder, where people may be walking. The pedestrians must be extra cautious when walking near a roadway, don’t automatically assume drivers can see you, and please wear reflectors at night.
It doesn’t matter if this person would not hurt a fly. You have to stop, by law, if you hit an animal, Chas V’shalom a person, or property. This doesn’t matter whether you are Chasidish, Litvak, not frum, or a gentile. IT’S THE LAW.
How about educating women not to push their strollers into the road too.
#9, if he thought he hit a deer in the dark, fog at 1AM, then being the type of person that would “never hurt a fly” one would think that he would call the police to tell them that he hit a deer along the roadway. that way the police could arrange to remove the dead deer from the road so others would not get hurt. When they would have arrived at the scene, they would have found the body and handled it appropriately.
regarding: “How is someone suppose to know that they must call police for hitting a deer.”
according to the answer on the NYS DMV website, you only need to call police for an accident involving a domestic animal.
there may be local laws that supercede this (any lawyers out there)
from: NYS DMV FAQs
Q: “I had a motor vehicle accident. What are my responsibilities, and what must I do at the accident scene?”
A: “If you are in an accident…, …If a parked vehicle or other property is damaged, or if a domestic animal is injured, you must locate the owner or contact the police.”
So perhaps if he hit a deer he did not have to call, however, if he had concerns that he left a dead or injured deer in the roadway (which in the fog at night could cause injury) and he did call, he would not be in trouble today for leaving the scene of an accident in which a person died.
best to err on the side of caution.
I once hit a deer. I called the police and they went to the area to: 1) find the deer and “end the suffering” if necessary and 2) to clear the glass and debris (if any) out of the road. It caused a lot of damage so I got a police report – more for my protection of driving with a missing headlamp (until I got it fixed) .
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regarding walkers on the roads (there, here and everywhere): I left the mountains around 10:15 M’Shabbos. the road walkers (yes without reflectors) do not even have the sense to walk single file – no, they have to go 2 and 3 abreast!
one last note, I did have a deer dart several yards in front of my car M’Shabbos while driving towards route 42 not to far past the fallsburg turnoff .
#15 – good points, all – some of my own:
(1) repeat urge for adults and children to wear reflective sashes or vests, day or night, to increase visibility to drivers
(2) walk single file on roadways
(3) deer cause extensive damage to cars; Heaven forbid a car hits a person or a deer, it can cause great damage (imagine a deer at 200 lbs or more)
(4) one hopes that the victim of this accident died instantly, and did not linger with injuries and a painful death; in some jurisdictions, if the law is that police were to have been notified, and lack of such notification led to the person’s death (i.e., the person could have survived had medical care been administered in timely fashion), the driver could be charged with a crime
(5) the family of the decedent deserves compassion; the family of the person who struck the decedent deserves compassion too, but that family still has that person alive – while one family was worried about their relative spending a Shabbos in jail, the other family is presumably shopping for a coffin
(6) be careful and judicious when driving – the five minutes you think you save could cost another a lifetime
He didn’t think he hit a deer, he had no idea what the thud that he heard was. When he got home he went to sleep and in the morning was discussing it with his family and went out to show them the car and saw half the Fallsburg PD waiting there!!
Today was the hearing. I don’t know the outcome yet.
I think everyone is misconstruing the “would not hurt a fly” comment. The purpose of that comment was to say that this driver is not of the nature to hit someone with his car and keep going. I highly doubt that the comment was posted to use as a defense for his trial!! People, seriously!
And why do we feel the need to call out who is right and who is wrong. I think everyone, including the driver, knows that what he did was wrong. We cant judge someone for a situation of which I hope noone has had to experience.
While we do feel bad for the victim of the accident, we can still hope that this situation is resolved quickly…
To answer all the above i think you are blowing this a little out of proportion. I am not giving the guy right for not stopping and calling the cops. All I am saying is that i know the guy and can guarentee you that he meant no harm of foul play at all.
People in these situations tend to loose themselves and freak out a bit and do not think and I beleive that is exactly what happened here. You have to think what you would have done at 1am on a foggy night afetr a long drive fron New york with your wife and kids in the car. he is entitled to freak out. Yes the victims faimly is in a mess you dont need anyone to say that. I was talking about the guy who hit the pedestrian which was definately by accident and had no idea that it was a person.
Joseph, they have country air in plenty of other places without all the issues of the mountains.
power walking alone on a country road at 2:00 AM?
Wow, I never knew you had to stop if you hit a deer. My deepest sympathy to the family of the deceased.
gamzultova – So go wherever you desire. As for the rest of us, we will continue to frequent the Catskill Mountains.
just another example of the law being very unclear > As far as most people know the law requires reporting hitting a domestic animal not a deer, racoon. squirrel etc! Unfortunately a person was killed at night w/no way to be seen ! I really wonder if anyone would have done any differently in this case at 1 -2 AM in the morning.
A clear case of overreaction by everyone . Instead focus on family of dead person who was killed in an accident and a poor unfortunate guy who has to live with it although he did nothing wrong legally.
Simply a tragedy all around . And who said anything about speeding ? That was never the issue at all.
There is no fault all around except for everyone needing to learn a lesson from this .
1. Wear reflectors at night when walking alongside the road
2. If u suspect u hit something stop no matter what and see what it is u hit .
#26, you raise a good point. Obviously we don’t need to report that we hit a squirrel, so why a deer? Because it’s bigger? If so, where do we draw the line on when to call the police?
As for always pulling over to see what you hit, I can’t say that anyone driving on a country road in the middle of the night would think they hit a person! And I would be very scared to get out of my car in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night on a dark road… I suppose a person could drive to the next exit and go back and retrace the route to see what it was, but then again, that could be considered “leaving the scene.”
I guess if you felt a big enough bump that you think it’s a deer, just stay in the car and call the police…
#21, how can you say no investigation is happening? The driver has been arrested and charged with a felony! (Leaving the scene of a personal injury accident resulting in a fatality.)
This is a bit off topic. But while people are discussing hitting deer, I want to publicize some safety information.
I always knew that hitting a deer could do substantial damage to a car. What I did NOT know, is that avoiding the deer in the wrong way is even more dangerous.
One night, while driving on Route 80 in New Jersey, a deer suddenly became visible to me, between the center and left lanes of the 3 lane highway. To avoid impact and the resulting damage, I swerved at 65 miles an hour to avoid the deer. My left tires ended up on the gravel of the road divider, and I lost control of the car. B’chasdei HaShem, my car came to a stop within one inch of the metal road divider, which would certainly have been disastrous both to me and to the car.
I experienced my own personal Nes Nigleh that night. My car ended up perpendicular to the left lane of a 65 MPH highway. If there had been anyone traveling behind me, he would have plowed straight into my car door… enough said.
The front right of my car hit the deer anyway, and there was damage in the hundreds of dollars – to the right fender and door. By swerving to avoid monetary damage, I almost lost a lot more. I miraculously was able to drive away, unharmed.
Boruch HaShem SheGemalani Col Tov!
I drove off at the next exit, and called 911 to report an injured (or dead deer) on that particular stretch of highway, and to find out if I had any other legal obligations. The amount of damage – which I did not realize – actually did obligate me to report the accident.
It was after this incident, that I became aware of the following information:
DEFENSIVE DRIVING TIPS TO AVOID HITTING A DEER
(from National Forest Service)
– Keep a close watch for deer at dawn and dusk. Deer are most active during these times.
– Be especially alert and drive with caution. Be on the lookout for deer crossing signs and slow down.
– Be aware of your surroundings, just because you don’t see a deer crossing sign posted, it doesn’t mean deer won’t unexpectedly appear.
– Flash your lights or honk your horn to frighten deer away from the side of the road.
– When you encounter deer along the roadside, turn on your emergency lights to let other motorists know about the potential danger.
– Use your high-beam headlights when there is no opposing traffic. The headlight beam will illuminate the eyes of deer and provide greater driver reaction time.
– Upon seeing a deer, immediately slow down. Do not swerve – because this can confuse deer as to where to run. It could also cause you to lose control and hit a tree or another car.
– If you can’t avoid the accident, then just hit the deer while maintaining control of your vehicle. Some experts say that if such a collision is inevitable, you should avoid braking at impact so that the deer may pass underneath your car as opposed to hitting the windshield.
– Look for other deer after one has crossed the road. Deer commonly travel in groups, so the probability is high that other deer will be in front of or behind the one you’ve seen.
– Don’t rely on hood-mounted deer whistles and other devices to scare away deer.
– Always wear your seatbelt. Most people injured and/or killed in deer – automobile collisions were not wearing their seat belt.
If you are unable to avoid a collision with a deer, take the following steps:
– Do not touch the animal! The deer, in attempting to move or get away, could hurt you or itself.
– Remove your automobile from the roadway, if possible.
– Call the police.
A deer is not a domestic animal. Domestic animal means dog, cat, cow or horse. I was wondering if anybody else was going to catch that. Well, kudos to snd @ 6:39
#26 he did something illegal. he left the scene of an accident in which a pedistrian was struck. what he claims to have thought that he hit does not matter, what he actually hit is what counted.
#27 he could have pulled over and used a cellphone (assuming that he had one), so that he did not have to get out of the car. if he did not have a cellphone, driving to the nearest safe place to call is NOT considered leaving the scene of an accident.
I want to clarify some points. As a relative of this man, whatever I write here is true.
The man hit was an old man, crossing the street in a walker, who was believed to be a drug dealer. It’s not as if the driver wasn’t driving properly. He didn’t see the man, who was believed to not be sane. Secondly, as he didn’t see anything, he got scared that somebody was trying to attack his car, so he just sped off.
I believe I would’ve done the same had I been in his situation.
Instead of writing your opinion, why don’t you simply Daven for one of your brothers who desperately needs a Yeshua? Besides for the fear of jail, this man is very sensitive and it could him an extremely long time to get over this trauma.