Police: Speeding dirt bike rider dies in wreck

Schenectady man, driving wrong way, hit car at intersection

Law enforcement agencies are looking to drones as they try to combat the growing problem of illegal dirt bikes and ATVS that have proven dangerous and deadly in communities across the Capital Region.

The latest example occurred just before 2 p.m. Thursday in Schenectady when a dirt bike rider speeding the wrong way on Cutler Street in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood died after the bike slammed into the rear of a moving car and he was thrown from it, city and police officials said.

The 30-year-old city resident was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital where he was pronounced dead. As of late Friday, police have not yet released his name.

Schenectady Sgt. Nick Mannix, a city police spokesman, said Friday that speed was a factor in the crash.

The dirt bike was headed the wrong way on Cutler when it hit the back end of a car that was crossing the street at Fourth Avenue, he said.

The victim was wearing a beanie helmet, which only covers a portion of the head, fire officials said.

Last month, a 21-year- old Loudonville man died after two dirt bikes collided on Stone Road in Guilderland.

It was not immediately known what led to the wreck, but in recent months, several police agencies have tried to crack down on dirt bike operators, some of whom drive erratically, flout traffic laws and ride unregistered bikes.

But police have been reluctant to pursue such vehicles over worries the drivers could crash and be badly injured in a chase.

Mannix said the department beefed up its patrols and carried out targeted enforcement over the spring and summer months in a bid to ensure that the bikers’ vehicles are properly registered and have the required safety equipment, including turn signals and lights.

Troy Deputy Police Chief Dan Dewolf said Friday that part of the department’s strategy included soliciting the public’s help to pinpoint where the often large groups of bikers were originating. They received a lot of anonymous tips over the web.

“A couple of times we were able to locate where they were coming from, out of a garage or alley, and we have community officers go and speak with the proprietor or whoever owned

that building and talk to them and try to intervene that way rather than try to catch them when they ’re out on the street,” he said. “There were other groups that weren’t from Troy, they would just kind of show up, so those groups we never really got a handle on.”

He said that the interaction between police and the bikers can turn dangerous in a flash and is typically handled on a case-by-case basis.

“You don’t want to kick it up and then they end up slamming into somebody and they get hurt and somebody else gets hurt,” he added.

Officer Steve Smith, an Albany police department spokesman, recalled Friday how a man operating a dirt bike crashed into an area where there were several city officers a few months ago. The officers were not hurt. “It’s not an easy problem to address because we obviously want the community to remain safe,” he said. As a result, Smith said, Albany police usually don’t try to pull over dirt bikes since they may just speed off, which could imperil lives.

He said Albany police have “strategies” such as special details they use, mostly when the motorized vehicles are stopped. Though sometimes those stops result in arrests where the bike is confiscated, Smith said in some instances, police use the interaction to educate people about bike and road safety.

Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino said Friday that Rotterdam has its problems with dirt bikes and ATVS.

“They’re flat out dangerous, they ’re creating a safety hazard for pedestrians for other vehicles that are traveling the roads in a legal manner,” he said. “The majority of these bikes are unregistered and some of them are kids that are not even of driving age.”