Thanksgiving Crash in Columbia County Results in One Fatality and Another Arrested

While the holidays are an annual time reserved for celebration and spending time with loved ones, it does not mean that it is impossible for tragedy to strike on any day of festivity.

That sadly is the scenario that played out last week on Thanksgiving at a location in Columbia County.

Fatal Accident in Canaan

The incident in question took place during the early evening hours of Thursday November 28, 2024 when members of the New York State Police arrived to a location in the town of Canaan, on Route 295 west of Stony Kill Road.

The accident in question involved a single vehicle which went off road where it then struck a utility pole.

The impact of the crash resulted in one of the vehicle's three occupants being ejected from the rear passenger seat. According to the press release issued by the New York State Police, State Troopers arrived on the scene at approximately 5:50 pm and immediately began providing medical aid to the ejected passenger.

That same individual was soon after transported to Berkshire Medical Center by Chatham Rescue for further medical treatment but the injuries suffered proved to be severe and he was later pronounced deceased. That individual was later identified as 20-year old Sierra Tassone of Pittsfield, MA.

Accident Investigation

After providing medical aid, State Troopers were able to begin an investigation into how the crash occurred.

What the investigation revealed is that slippery road conditions are what caused the vehicle to veer off the road into the pole. Troopers also questioned the other two occupants who were in the vehicle at the time.

The other two occupants were identified as 27-year-old Sarah M. Kucka, of Adams, MA, and 25-year-old Shawn A. Barnwell, of Bronx, NY and initially, it was Kucka who claimed to have been driving the vehicle.

The investigation would continue and it was later that the full story would come out.

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Further investigation revealed that it was actually Barnwell who had been driving the vehicle, which Barnwell was not legally able to do because his license had been previously suspended. As a result, Barnwell was issued a number of traffic tickets.

For her role in attempting to take the blame, the 27-year-old Kucka was placed under arrest and charged with two misdemeanor charges. The first was for Obstruction of Governmental Administration, a Class A misdemeanor and Conspiracy in the 6^th degree, a Class B misdemeanor.

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Both offenses carry potential penalties of fines, probation and even jail time. The obstruction charge could result in a jail sentence of one year, while the conspiracy charge could result in a sentence of 90 days.