CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Hoosac Valley High School community is mourning the tragic death of one its students late Monday night.
Kaliq Sherman, a junior, was killed in a single car accident on upper East Hoosac Street.
There were five other teenagers in the care with him, including three Hoosac students who incurred injuries in the crash. All five teens were taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield by ambulance and were treated for minor injuries.
According to the district attorney's office, the accident occurred about 11:30 on Monday night. When emergency responders arrived on the scene they found a vehicle that had travelled down a steep embankment and was resting on the passenger side against a tree.
Sherman, 17, of Adams was inside the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Five other occupants of the vehicle were located and taken to Berkshire Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
The accident remains under investigation by state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office, state troopers from Crime Scene Services (CSS) and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section (CARS) and members of the Adams Police Department.
Hoosac Princial Jeremiah Ames said Sherman was a member of the track team and "an enthusiastic artist."
"We have spoken with all of our students about what occurred," he wrote in an email to the Hoosac community and parents.
Parents were informed earlier on Tuesday about the incident and told that counselors would be available for students who needed to speak with them or would be given some time alone to deal to process what had happened.
"The best thing for many of our students today will be to stick to established routines," Ames wrote. "Know that we will continue to do all we can to support your children through this difficult time."
Superintendent Robert Putnam said the school's Crisis Team went to work early in the morning to provide timely information and emotional support for students, families, and staff. Neighboring districts alsocalled in to offer support and personnel and counselors from McCann Technical School and C.T. Plunkett joined the Hoosac Valley team to provide additional support because of their familiarity with our students.
"The ACRSD deeply appreciates the offer of support and sympathy from our neighbors," Putnam wrote. "The thoughts and prayers of the entire ACRSD community go out to the families of the students involved."
WINDSOR, Mass. — Daron Reynolds, 31, of Cheshire has been identified has the victim in Monday's fatal head-on crash in Windsor, by state police.
Reynolds was the passenger in the 2013 Camry that was struck by the other vehicle. The driver of the Camry, a 27-year-old Cheshire woman, and another passenger, a female toddler, suffered serious injuries and were transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield and then transferred to Baystate Medical Center, as was the driver of the Acura that apparently hit them.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police. No further information is being released at this time.
According to his Facebook page, Reynolds had been a disc jockey for WBRK Star 101.7 FM and attended both Pittsfield and Lee high schools. It lists him as residing in Pittsfield, although state police gave his town, and that of the driver of the car he was in, as Cheshire.
Original post at 9:05 p.m. on April 24, 2017
WINDSOR, Mass. — A Cheshire man was killed Monday afternoon in an head-on collision on the Windsor/Cummington line on Route 9.
State police are withholding identification of the 31-year-old man pending family notification. He was initially taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield and then to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was pronounced dead.
The crash occurred at about 1:45 p.m. and involved four people.
Preliminary investigation by Sgt. Dean Clement indicates that a 2000 Acura 32TL crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a 2013 Toyota Camry head on at the Windsor/Cummington line on Route 9. The victim was a passenger in the Toyota.
The Toyota's driver, a woman, and a juvenile passenger as well as the 23-year-old man driving the Acura were all transported to BMC and then to Baystate.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation with assistance from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, and the Office of the Medical Examiner. No charges have been filed at this time.
Robert Pearson graduated from McCann Technical School in 2015.
He is seen here with his mother in this image posted on a youcaring.com
page set up to help his family defray expenses.
CHESHIRE, Mass. — A Dalton teen was killed early Friday morning in a single-car accident on Fred Mason Road that injured four others.
Robert Pearson, 19, a passenger in the vehicle, was transported by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he was pronounced deceased.
According to state police from the Cheshire Barracks, the crash occurred at about 12:52 a.m.
Preliminary investigation by Trooper Timothy Cooper indicates that a 2009 Nissan Altima operated by a 19-year-old Adams man was traveling south on Fred Mason Road when, for reasons still under investigation, it veered off the west side of the road. The Altima, which had a total of five occupants, collided with trees and rolled over onto its roof.
Two other passengers, a 22-year-old North Adams man and a 30-year-old North Adams man, suffered serious injuries and were transported to Berkshire Medical Center. The operator and another passenger, a 19-year-old woman from North Adams, suffered minor injuries and were transported to BMC as well.
Fred Mason Road was closed for five hours because of the accident.
The crash remains under investigation by Troop B with assistance from the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section and Detective Unit for Berkshire County. Also aiding at the scene were Cheshire Police, the Cheshire Fire Department, and the Adams Ambulance, North Adams Ambulance, and County Ambulance companies.
Both lanes of Fred Mason Road were closed for five hours to accommodate the rescue response and crash investigation. No further information is being released at this time.
A youcaring.com page has been set up to help the family defray the impending expenses.
CHESHIRE, Mass. — A Hoosac Valley High School valedictorian died Saturday, four days after being struck by an elderly driver while riding her bicycle in Rhode Island.
Mary E. Wilk, 22, was hit while riding along Route 1 near Jerry Brown Farm Road in South Kingstown, R.I., on July 26.
According to South Kingstown Police, she was northbound on her bike when she was struck from behind by a car operated by 88-year-old Claire Archambault of South Kingstown.
She died at Rhode Island Hospital on Saturday, July 30, as the result of the injuries sustained from the crash.
Wilk, the daughter of Joseph and Nancy Wilk, was valedictorian of the Hoosac Valley class of 2012 and active in sports and clubs at the school. She was class president and member of the student council, and was involved in track, cross country and the Nordic ski teams, and basketball and soccer.
She graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor of science in microbiology and was currently a research assistant at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I.
Police say the accident is still under investigation and that drugs or alcohol were not a factor in the crash.
This is the second tragedy to strike Hoosac's class of 2012 in a week. Wilk's classmate Ethan Piaggi-Cornell was killed in a motor vehicle accident on Thursday on Route 8 in Adams.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Numerous schools were the target of bomb threats Thursday afternoon triggering responses from police and fire departments.
Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn said targets were identified in five communities but he did not reveal which ones.
"There was a timeline given in the call and an indication that the caller would make another call," Wynn said.
However, the time elapsed without incident and the individual never called back. Wynn said the caller making the threat was "scratchy" and "difficult to hear."
"We're working it an as active case," he said.
At least two of those targets were schools.
Both Lanesborough and Lenox have reported that just before 2 p.m. bomb threats were made on the schools. The call were made to Pittsfield Police dispatch.
"This afternoon at 1:49 p.m., Lanesborough Elementary School received a notice from the Lanesborough Police Department of a bomb threat identifying several targets throughout Berkshire County including Lanesborough Elementary School. School personnel conducted a thorough search of the building and its perimeter, joined by town police and fire officials. The chiefs of the Lanesborough Police and Fire Departments were on the scene immediately and determined that no students or students were in danger," wrote Lanesborough Principal Martin McEvoy.
Police Chief Timothy Sorrell said police and fire initiated its "bomb scare protocol" and ultimately found no threats. Lanesborough Police were notified of the threat around 1:45 and claimed the bomb would go off a half hour later.
Cheshire Elementary went into a "soft lockdown," according to a Facebook posting by the Cheshire Police Department because the threat mentioned the Cheshire post office, which is not far from the school.
"I want to reiterate that the Cheshire Elementary School was never mentioned in the bomb threat," state the post, presumably by Chief Timothy Garner. "Post office employees were notified and they made their contacts as well."
Once the time frame of the threat expired, the school went back to normal.
Two schools in Dalton were reportedly included in the threat but neither were evacuated unlike Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.
The Berkshire Eagle reported that Lenox Memorial Middle and High School was evacuated because of the threat. That too was found to be unsubstantiated by Lenox police and fire.
Principal Michael Knybel told the Berkshire Eagle: "In the interest of student and staff safety and security, we have sent students home early... Our first concern is the safety of our students and we will make every attempt to ensure this matter is thoroughly investigated and safety is restored."
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