Man’s medical problem causes fatal accident
A Gloversville man died Tuesday morning after experiencing a medical emergency that forced him to veer out of the driving lane into a pickup truck.
Karl Zessin, 56, was traveling eastbound on Central Avenue when he crashed into Heather Hawkins, 41, of Colonie, according to a Colonie police report. Zessin’s van struck the driver-side door pickup truck, sending it into a large road sign. His van then jumped a curb and barreled through the weedy shoulder until it stuck a highway sign post and came to a stop across the I-87 ramp. According to police, witnesses said Zessin never appeared to try and stop the vehicle when his van drove off the road.
According to the report, Colonie EMS transported Zessin to Albany Medical Center but he did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead. The Village of Colonie Fire Department was on the scene to extricate Hawkins from her vehicle. She was also taken to the Albany Medical Center with some internal injuries, but police said her injuries did not appear to be life threatening.
The eastbound lane of Central Avenue was closed yesterday for a little over an hour as well as the on-ramp to I-87.`
