5 Hurt In Head-On Crash In Southeast

SOUTHEAST, NY – Five people were injured in a two-vehicle head-on collision on Tonetta Lake Road in the Town of Southeast on Sunday. It happened, police suspect, when one of the drivers swung wide around a curve. One of the drivers is a local resident; the other is from Danbury.

The crash occurred at about 1:30 p.m. in front of 349 Tonetta Lake Road, just east of the intersection with Coolidge Drive, when a Dodge minivan occupied by three people collided with a Chevrolet pickup truck occupied by two people.

Preliminary reports indicate that the minivan was travelling in a westbound direction on Tonetta Lake Road and, as it rounded a curve, it crossed over the midline of the road, running head-on into the eastbound pickup truck in the eastbound lane. Deputies reported that inattention on the part of the minivan driver while negotiating the curve was an apparent factor in the crash, Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith said.

The driver of the minivan was identified as Karen Stein, 23, of Brewster Hill Road in Southeast. There were two passengers in the van: Kelly Zimmerman, 31, and Chrystal Benbow, 42.

The driver of the pickup truck was identified as Edwin Lopez-Ramirez, 37, of Center Street in Danbury. His passenger was Rosa A. Hernandez, 49.

All five persons involved in the crash were transported by ambulances to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police said.