14-year-old in stolen vehicle causes wreck; kills other driver

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The alleged stolen SUV is on the right, with the operator standing inside of the driver's door.

RHINEBECK – A Tuesday morning car accident on Route 9 in Rhinebeck claimed the life of 49-year-old New Jersey resident Jonathan Kiech.  He was traveling northbound on Route 9 near the Matchbox Cafe when it was struck head-on by a southbound stolen SUV operated by a 14-year-old.  The fatal accident occurred at approximately 6:25 a.m. on March 28, 2023.

Route 9 in the area of the crash was closed for several hours as firefighters worked to remove the victim from his van and the accident investigation and reconstruction team worked to determine the cause of the wreck.

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the stolen vehicle, a 2015 Toyota 4Runner with Connecticut registration was stolen during the late night hours of Monday, March 27th, or the early morning hours of Tuesday.  Sheriff’s Captain John Watterson said, “Further investigation into those thefts is continuing, however at this time they are thought to be the work of an organized group that has previously operated out of Connecticut.”

While the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, the juvenile was transported to MidHudson Regional Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and has since been remanded to a secure detention facility pending further investigation and charges, Watterson noted, without indicating what, if any charges were already filed against the child.

Mid-Hudson News interviewed several people familiar with the accident on Tuesday morning and published the initial story at 2:00 pm.  “The van sustained significant damage and the operator did not survive the collision,” Hillside Fire Chief Denny McGuire told Mid-Hudson News.  The chief noted that firefighters spent a considerable amount of time working to free the victim from the wreckage.

Both operators were the sole occupants of their respective vehicles, and the juvenile operator will not be identified due to his age. 




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