Speed and alcohol may have been involved
COPAKE – A Jefferson man was killed when his pickup truck ran off Columbia County Route 7A and struck a utility pole.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported Robert Lowden, 46, was southbound on Route 7A in the Town of Copake at about 9:37 p.m. on Friday when his truck left the road and struck the pole on the driver’s side. Lowden died at the scene.
A passenger, Michael Steinmetz, Jr., 31, also of Jefferson, was transported to Albany Medical Center by Greenport Rescue Squad for internal injuries and neck pain.
Police said speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash, which remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office and county coroner’s office.
The Community Rescue Squad, Greenport Rescue Squad and Copake Fire Company assisted at the scene.
