MALONE — A Malone teenager was killed in an ATV crash Wednesday evening.
State Police based in Malone said that at about 6 p.m., they were contacted to investigate an accident at the intersection of State Route 30 and County Route 28 in the Town of Malone.
William C. Derochie II, 16, was riding a 2004 Suzuki ATV west on Route 28, along with a companion on a 2009 Yamaha dirt bike, when they approached the intersection of Route 30.
Derochie failed to stop at the intersection, police said, and pulled into the path of a 2011 Dodge Durango traveling south on Route 30, operated by Trina M. Lewis, 35, of Constable.
Lewis was unable to avoid Derochie, police said, and her SUV struck the ATV, causing the teen to be ejected.
A back-seat passenger in the Durango was taken by Malone Rescue to Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
Franklin County Coroner Brian T. Langdon pronounced Derochie deceased at the accident site and authorized transport of his body to Alice Hyde Medical Center for an autopsy.
‘WONDERFUL’
“Will was an incoming junior with us,” Malone High School Principal Lori Tourville said Thursday. “He was a wonderful, wonderful young man.”
She had just seen him walking a few days ago.
“He had a distinctive strut. He was a tall, lanky boy, with a head of black, curly hair and a beautiful face. I said to myself, ‘There’s Will.’”
She said he was the type of kid “who always wanted to be doing the right thing.”
Tourville spoke with his mother Thursday morning, to offer any help she could, and was told that a lot of people were there for support.
The school plans to have the school open, with counselors and teachers on hand, before and after the funeral service.
The accident remains under investigation by the New York State Police in Malone and the Troop B Collision Reconstruction Unit.
DEADLY WEEK
Derochie is the fifth person to die in a crash in the Malone area in the past week.
On Saturday afternoon, three people died in an accident in the nearby Town of Duane. Police say Peter Patrenicola, 62, of Malone was headed north on Route 30 when his car crossed the southbound lane and crashed into one driven by Patrick Krolak, 42, of Chicago. Krolak and his two passengers all died. Patrenicola was in fair condition Thursday at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.
On Saturday night, Timothy L. Raymond, 40, died when he was walking in the northbound lane of Route 30 late Saturday night and was struck by a car. District Attorney Derek Champagne said they believe that death was attributed to pedestrian error.
Email Lois Clermont:
lclermont@pressrepublican.com
