Pittsfield Man Killed on NYS Thruway

03:28PM / Monday, April 27, 2026Print Story | Email Story

Joseph Mensah-Otoo was traveling the wrong direction when his 2025 Toyota struck three vehicles.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A city man was killed Sunday night in an accident on I-87 in New York State.

Joseph Mensah-Otoo, age 42, of Pittsfield, was ejected from his vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene after New York State Police say he hit three vehicles traveling the wrong way on the thruway.

Three other Berkshire residents traveling north were injured when their vehicles were struck.

At approximately 9:11 p.m. on Sunday, troopers assigned to the Albany Thruway barracks responded to a report of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 87 northbound, between Exits 19 and 20, in the town of Saugerties.

A preliminary investigation determined that a 2025 Toyota was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when it struck a 2022 Honda, a 2020 BMW, and a 2017 Ford F-150, all of which were traveling northbound.

The operator and sole occupant of the Toyota was identified as Mensah-Otoo.

Six other individuals were injured in the crash, including a 37-year-old man from New City; a 59-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, both from Cohoes, N.Y.; two 19-year-old men, both from Dalton; and a 19-year-old man from Hinsdale.

All were transported to Health Alliance Hospital in Kingston, N.Y., with non-life-threatening injuries.

State Police say the accident is still under investigation. They did not indicate how or why Mensah-Otoo was driving in the wrong lanes.

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15 People Displaced in Pittsfield Home Fires

Staff Reports11:35AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen people were displaced after 2-alarm home fires this weekend on Springside Avenue and Elaine Drive.

On Friday evening, the Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 209 Springside Ave., which took a four-hour battle to extinguish and resulted in a partial roof collapse. The next day, on Saturday evening, crews knocked down a fire at 121 Elaine Drive in about an hour.

The garage and part of the single-family home on Elaine Drive were gutted to the frame, along with a vehicle parked in the driveway. On Springside Avenue, the top level and porch of the multifamily were burned through.

A GoFundMe has been started for the family of the Elaine Drive home, which includes several young children. The fundraiser, with a $5,500 goal, explains they lost their home and all of their belongings. (iBerkshires.com does not confirm or endorse fundraisers; they are provided as information only.)

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and both incidents are under investigation. One dog was rescued on Springside Avenue.

On Oct. 10, around 6:15 p.m., PFD responded to the Springside Avenue home for a reported structure fire and saw a 2 1/2-story wood frame multifamily with a heavy blaze showing from the second-floor front porch, extending out.

The building suffered a partial roof collapse, which prolonged extinguishment. The fire was brought under control after about four hours.

“An aggressive offensive attack was mounted by first arriving crews stretching hose lines into the building as well as primary searches that proved negative. Ladders were placed around the structure to provide access as well as escape if needed. An off-duty Fire Captain had also been on scene early in the incident to help evacuate the structure and rescue a dog,” PFD wrote in a press release.

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