It's August, the very peak of the high summer season in the Catskills, and the roads are jammed with drivers. That means more crashes, especially on weekends, when the region's many visitors are in transit.
In one week, there have been two crashes on the same stretch of Route 28 in the Ulster County town of Shandaken, from the road's intersection with Route 212 south to the hamlet of Boiceville.
On Sunday, Aug. 2 at 4:17 p.m., first responders were called to a crash at the intersection of Upper Boiceville Road and Route 28, according to Rich Muellerleile, the chief of the Shandaken Ambulance Service, which was dispatched to the scene.
A week later, another crash happened on the same stretch of road at almost the same time.
At 5:25 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, a three-car crash involving a rollover occurred near the intersection of Route 212 and Route 28. The Shandaken EMS, the Olive Fire Department and the Phoenicia Fire Department responded to the scene, and shut down Route 28 from Winne Road to Route 212 for about an hour and a half, according to Muellerleile.
To passersby, yesterday's incident looked severe, but no one involved sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Muellerleile.
Although initial reports of serious injuries prompted a call for two medevac helicopters, "it was later determined that those medevacs were not needed," he said.
Three people who were injured in the crash were transported from the scene for medical treatment, and several more declined medical attention, he said.
First responders shut down Route 28 out of an abundance of caution.
"We worry about responder safety, particularly on high-speed, highly-trafficked roads in the summer," he said. "The best way to protect our responders and the patients that we’re treating is to separate the scene from the public."
