Ulster County Route 209 Closed for Hours Due to Single Car Accident
If you were anywhere near Kerhonkson yesterday (January 15th, 2022) then you know there was a major traffic delay causing drivers to be re-routed off State Route 209 for almost 10 hours. Traffic was sent to both Samsonville Road and Clay Hill Road until midnight.
Route 209 was closed on Saturday, January 15th, 2022 due to a single-car accident that resulted in a gas leak, According to a Facebook post from earlier today (Jan 16th, 2022 from the Ulster County Sheriff's Office the accident occurred around 4:30 PM on Saturday. The accident happened near the Dollar General on Route 209 in Kerhonkson.
When members of the Ulster County Sheriff's Department arrived they discovered that a car had left the road, struck a utility pole plus a fence, and then a valve for an underground propane tank. When the car struck the propane valve it resulted in a propane leak. Fortunately, the 47-year-old woman driver from Staten Island was uninjured.
The Kerhonkson and Accord Fire Departments both worked the scene and used a nearby hydrant to spray the propane leak while the tank bled off. Members of the NYS Department of Transportation along with the State Police and Ulster County Department of Emergency Management also responded.
The accident is still under investigation according to the Facebook post from the Ulster County Sheriff's Department. If you drove by the scene today you may have noticed that the car was still there encased in ice. The car wasn't going to be removed until it was deemed safe to remove it.
Additional Comments via Ulster County Fire/Rescue Incidents
Ulster County Fire/Rescue Incidents also commented today (January 16th, 2022) via Facebook on behalf of the District Chief of Accord Fire.
..... our community saw an event that could have been catastrophic when a vehicle crashed into the propane tank at the Dollar General store in Kerhonkson around 4:30 pm on Saturday, January 15th, 2022. Evacuations began, roadways were shut down, and a plan was put in place to isolate the situation. Nearly 21 hours later our first responders picked up their equipment and the scene was turned over to Amerigas technicians. (Ulster County Fire/Rescue Incidents via Facebook)
They also thanked members in the Accord Fire Department, the Kerhonkson Fire Department, Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the New York State Department of Transportation, Central Hudson, Amerigas whose technicians remained with the fire watch crew the entire night, and the Ulster County office of the fire coordinator specifically 56-5.