State Police Investigating Fatal Route 55 Crash

A 34-year-old Liberty man was killed on Wednesday morning when his car crossed into the eastbound lanes of Route 55 in Neversink.

Derrick Yerkes was driving west in a 2006 Lincoln when he hit a 2016 Toyota which was being driven in the opposite direction by 56-year-old Cheryl Bertholf of Loch Sheldrake. Yerkes was declared dead at the scene while Bertholf was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center with rib fractures as well as a fractured vertebrae.

State Police from the Liberty barracks responded to the scene, and the cause of the investigation is still being determined. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the barracks at 845-292-6600.

Volunteer firefighters from Grahamsville, Neversink, and Loch Sheldrake responded to the scene along with Mobile Medic Ambulance, Lifenet helicopter, and the New York State Department of Transportation.