Police chief defends ticketing hit pedestrian

SAUGERTIES >> Town police have ticketed a pedestrian who was hit by a pickup truck after he allegedly jaywalked on Partition Street Saturday afternoon, and Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra defended the “aggressive” enforcement in a statement issued Sunday.

Police said 56-year-old Kenny C. Wise of Wappingers Falls walked out into Partition Street outside of a designated crosswalk and was struck by a northbound 2015 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Kenneth Gierloff, 47, of Boiceville, around 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities said witnesses told them Wise walked into the roadway just before he was struck by the side view mirror of the pickup, causing him to fall and be struck by the vehicle’s tires, injuring his ankle and foot.

Wise was taken to HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway campus in Kingston, where he was treated and later released.

“We have had a significant reduction in pedestrian vehicle accidents in the past four years by nearly 50 percent,” Sinagra said.

“This latest incident only underscores the need for us to continue our aggressive efforts toward reducing these types of accidents, which are clearly avoidable.

“Based on the investigation, Wise has been ticketed under the NYS vehicle traffic law, pedestrian failed to yield right of way to MV (motor vehicle) in other than designated crosswalk,” Sinagra said in a news release.

“Motorists must yield to any pedestrian who is in a clearly defined and designated crosswalk,” Sinagra said. If pedestrians cross the street at any other point, they need to yield to vehicles.”