Crash causes restaurant fire; driver hurt, charged

The Gunk Haus, a restaurant on South Street in this southern Ulster County community, caught fire after it was struck by an allegedly drunken driver, according to authorities.

William J. Judge, 47, of Highland, was alone in a 2019 Subaru about 9:40 p.m. Sunday when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into the front room of the restaurant at 387 South St. in Clintondale, according to the town of Lloyd Police Department.

Clintondale Fire Chief Ricky Brooks said Tuesday that the vehicle struck a 15-year-old extension of the building. He said the resulting blaze “caused significant fire damage and a lot of smoke damage to the bar and kitchen area” but was kept from spreading to the original structure, which was built in the early 1900s.

“It was a good save on that old structure,” he said.

In containing the blaze, firefighters kept the damage to a minimum in the older parts of the building, Brooks said.

He said the fire started in the engine compartment of Judge’s car and spread to the restaurant.

Police said Judge was taken to the Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie by the New Paltz Rescue Squad and treated for face and hand injuries.

Judge was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving and released with a ticket to appear in Lloyd Town Court, police said.

Brooks said seven fire departments and 65 firefighters responded to the scene. No firefighters suffered serious injuries, he said.