Troy man killed after joyride in National Grid truck ends in river
By Mark Robarge TROY >> An apparent joyride in a National Grid dump truck early Wednesday led to a police chase that ended with the truck crashing into the Hudson River and the death of its driver.
City police spokesman Capt. Daniel DeWolf said Wednesday morning that officers responded about 1 a.m. to the National Grid yard along the river on Smith Avenue in the city’s North Central neighborhood after receiving reports that a man had entered the secured yard, jumped into the dump truck and began driving around the lot, crashing into a home at 22 Douw St.
DeWolf said that when police arrived, the man, later identified as Joshua Evans, 21, of Troy, was still driving around the yard, but while officers tried to get his attention and order him to stop the vehicle, Evans instead sped off, crashing through a fence on the property. DeWolf said Evans continued on until the truck plunged into the river near the city’s Federal Lock.
Officers ran to the shoreline to see if Evans had managed to get out before the truck went into the water, then checked the river for any signs of him, but could not locate him, DeWolf said. Witnesses said the truck plunged into about 30 feet of water and that its headlights could be seen shining up through the murky river.
Evans’ body was later pulled from the river by a state police dive team, DeWolf said. The truck was also pulled from the river, DeWolf said, but investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the incident. National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said by email that the company is working with authorities on their investigation and conducting an internal probe on its own.
Meanwhile, the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York said two residents of the Douw Street Evans home were displaced because of the crash and are being provided with food, clothing and lodging by the community service agency.
Evans was accused in February of setting two fires — including one to a business — in the city’s downtown. Police said Evans first started a fire at the rear of the Antiques Warehouse at 78 4th St. in the early morning hours of Feb. 8, then lit another just down the street. The fires caused only minor damage, but Evans was arrested later in the month, after he was identified from surveillance videos from the area around the two locations, and charged with third-degree arson.