POLICE, COURTS AND FIRE CALLS

Driver seriously injured in truck collision

A Fort Edward man was badly hurt and remains hospitalized after the vehicle he was driving slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer Thursday afternoon in Fort Ann, according to the Washington County Sheriff ’s Office.

Authorities say Aaron Wall, 46, was behind the wheel of a pick-up truck traveling south on Route 4 near the intersection of Route 149 when he rear-ended the rig hauling wood chips and some type of sawdust product that had slowed down for traffic.

Wall, who was trapped in his vehicle for a time, had to be extricated by fire and emergency medical services crew before being transported by Fort Ann EMS to Albany Medical Center Hospital with serious internal and leg injuries.

A medevac helicopter was called but was unable to make the trip because of the snowy weather conditions. The 73year-old driver of the tractor trailer was not hurt.

The wreck, which remains under investigation by investigators with the sheriff ’s office, forced authorities to close a section of Route 4 and 149 for a time.

Sheriff: School janitor stole numerous items

BERNE — A janitor at Berne-knox-westerlo schools is charged with stealing several items from the school — from laptops to soap dispensers to a photo of a legendary film star — since October, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said.

Christopher M. Lewis, 53, would steal the items periodically and bring them to his Coeymans home, Apple said.

As well as three laptops and several soap dispensers, Lewis also took a television, four drills, a saw, a heater, a paper towel dispenser, a vacuum, two lamps, a battery pack, a stereo system, and a picture frame of Marilyn Monroe. They are valued at over $2,500, the sheriff's office said.

Arrested Thursday, Lewis was charged with one count of grand larceny in Berne and one count of criminal possession of stolen property in Coeymans. Both are felonies. He was released and ordered to appear in Berne and Coeymans courts at a later date.

Malta man accused of benefits theft

MALTA — A Malta man is charged with using the identities of several unsuspecting victims to get himself more than $100,000 in jobless benefits, State Police said Friday. On Thursday, Mathew R. Baldwin, 22, was arrested on felony identity theft and grand larceny charges after an investigation by the State Police Financial Crimes Unit, troopers based in Saratoga and Princetown, and the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. The probe began in October when it was discovered Baldwin was using stolen identities to certify state unemployment insurance benefits, police said.