No charges will be filed against a Hudson Valley police officer who was involved in a fatal crash.

On Tuesday, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced his office would not be filing criminal charges regarding an incident where someone was killed in a Town of Crawford police pursuit.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office:

  • On December 5, 2017, a Crawford police officer observed the driver of a Buick commit a traffic infraction on State Route 17K and tried to pull the Buick over.
  • Instead of pulling over, the Buick fled, and the police car gave chase, with its lights and siren on.
  • Due to excessive speed, the Buick crossed over into the opposite lane of traffic and struck an oncoming pickup head-on.
  • The driver of the Buick was pronounced dead at the scene. The operator of the pickup was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center after complaining of pain in his hip.

A police investigation later revealed that the deceased driver was wanted on felony charges involving criminal contempt and criminal mischief, police say.

“All of us are entitled to be safe on our roadways,” Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said. “When motorists violate the traffic laws, and, more importantly, when they flee from officers who are doing their duty, they put all of us at risk. This case illustrates just how dangerous fleeing from police officers on the roadways can be, for those who flee, and for those innocent operators who are unfortunate enough to be nearby.”

Any possible administrative action will be taken by the Crawford Police Department, officials say.

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