COLONIE — Portions of Central Avenue and State Street will be intermittently closed on Sunday, March 22 to continue the investigation into a fatal crash on Christmas Day, 2019.
Lt. Robert Donnelly, head of the Colonie police traffic unit, said the road has to be closed because automobiles driving by will disturb the workings of a high-tech piece of equipment used by the State Police to track the path of the vehicles.
On Christmas Day, Lahraj “Derrick” Premnauth, a 24-year-old father of two from Schenectady, was the passenger in a 2001 Audi driven by 17-year-old Veeshram Ramdeo.
He was headed east on Central Avenue between Lansing and Lisha Kill roads when he lost control of the car and hit a telephone pole with enough force to split the vehicle in half.
Premnauth was killed. Two other passengers were seriously injured as was Ramdeo.
Ramdeo is currently still being treated for his injuries and has not communicated with police, Donnelly said.
Police have said alcohol and speed played a role in the 7 a.m. and that Ramdeo may have swerved to avoid hitting another car that was making a left hand turn into the
The case has been moved to the District Attorney’s Office, and it will have representatives at the work being done on March 22, Donnelly said, but as of Tuesday, Ramdeo has not yet been formally charged. There could be charges, Donnelly said, based on the “conclusion of the investigation and the condition” of Ramdeo.
It’s not unusual to after-the-fact close roads to investigate accidents, Donnelly said, particularly if the road is busy and/or if the accident occurred at night.
The scheduled road closures are:
- From 7 to 11 a.m. State Street will be closed between Mohrhoff and Midland avenues. Traffic will be diverted onto Albany Street. All businesses normally open will remain open but access will be from Albany Street. Access to Metro Ford will be on Balltown Road.
- From 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Avenue will be closed between LishaKill and Lansing roads. Traffic will be diverted onto Albany Street. Businesses will remain open but customers will need to use detours to gain access.
All times above are approximate and it may change if there is inclement weather.
