By Paul Hemmer
HORTONVILLE —February 13, 2001 - Hortonville and Callicoon firefighters had their hands full with two separate motor vehicle accidents this past Friday afternoon.
According to Hortonville Chief Tim Hornicek the first accident occurred sometime after 3 p.m. when a log truck driven by John Dumond of Lake Huntington was climbing the steep hill going out of Hortonville on Beechwoods Road.
“As the truck reached the top of the hill the engine just quit,” explained Hornicek. “As a result the truck lost its brakes and the driver couldn’t stop it from rolling backwards. Rather than keep going down the hill or off the embankment on the other side of the road he steered the truck into the ditch were it overturned.”
Dumond was uninjured as a result of the incident and actually went to get help at Hofer’s Sawmill just up the road. While Hortonville firefighters were standing by waiting for another logging vehicle to arrive on the scene and remove the logs from the stricken vehicle, their alarm sounded shortly after 4 p.m.. Dispatchers directed firefighters and equipment to respond to a second motor vehicle accident just off of Route 17B on County Route 121.
Since there was no immediate danger at the scene of the log truck incident and the vehicle was off the roadway, Chief Hornicek directed his engine, which was standing by at the scene, to respond to the second incident. Firefighters and medical personnel from the Callicoon Fire Department were also dispatched to the scene as dictated by prearranged mutual aid agreements between the two departments.
Arriving at the second call firefighters found a two-car motor vehicle accident involving a pickup truck, which had sideswiped a passenger car. The car, a Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Karl Pfeil of Jeffersonville along with an unidentified female passenger, was traveling towards North Branch on County Route 121. Pfeil had just turned off of Route 17B and traveled approximately 500 ft. up Route 121 when a Ford F150 pickup driven by Bryan Calie of Callicoon crossed the double yellow line and sideswiped Pfeil’s vehicle.
According to Chief Hornicek, Hortonville’s engine set up just past the crash site and firefighters extended a charged inch and three-quarter line as a precautionary measure while firefighters from Callicoon arrived on the scene to administer medical aid.
Although no one involved in the crash seemed to be seriously injured, Callicoon firefighters performed medical assessments of the trio which resulted in Pfeil being transported to Grover Hermann Hospital in Callicoon, where he was treated and released. Calie and Pfeil’s passenger refused medical attention at the scene.
Hornicek also stated that the State Police arrived to investigate both accident scenes. No tickets were issued to the driver of the log truck, Dumond, but Calie – who claimed he was trying to retrieve an item which had fallen off the seat of his vehicle before he struck Pfeil’s Cavalier – was ticketed for failure to keep right.