Brooklyn driver collides with sanitation truck, dies of injuries

AMENIA — New York State Police (NYSP) Troopers from Dover Plains responded to a fatal car crash on Route 44 and County Route 83, where the turnoff is for Separate Road, on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at around 4:15 p.m.

According to investigators, 37-year-old Christian P. Brink of Brooklyn was driving a 2003 Toyota Camry southbound on County Route 83 approaching Route 44. When Brink approached the stop sign, he “failed to stop and yield [the] right of way at the intersection stop sign,” stated the police report. 

“He made a left-hand turn to continue eastbound on State Route 44 directly in the path of a westbound 2008 Peterbilt sanitation truck,” stated the report.

NYSP Public Information Officer Aaron J. Hicks said Friday that the local garbage truck was traveling westbound and “had the right of way.” He said Brink “didn’t come to a complete stop and did not yield right of way.”

Brink and his passenger were transported to Sharon Hospital just across the state border by Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP). The passenger, whose name was not released, was reported in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries. Brink, however, succumbed to his injuries and once at the ER was pronounced dead by the Emergency Department physician.

The state police shut down Route 44 following the collision, though Officer Hicks was unsure for exactly how long. 

On Friday, Nov. 13, there was no new information to report, other than the investigation into the accident is ongoing. Hicks said the review will likely continue for “a good six months while collision does all their math, because they have a backlog of cases and it has to get reviewed twice before it’s finalized,” he said, explaining the standard procedure. “Then two reconstructionists have to redo the math to make sure everything is correct.”