WALTON, N.Y. – A Hopewell Junction man was driving with a suspended license when his vehicle collided with another in upstate Delaware County community, killing a New Jersey man and injuring the victim’s wife and 6-year-old son.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Star of Oneonta that Joel Alves, 41, of Hopewell Junction, was driving on Route 206 in the town of Walton late Saturday afternoon when he crossed the center line and collided head-on with the other vehicle.
Deputies said the driver of the other vehicle, 43-year-old Andrew Thompson, of Tenafly, N.J., died at the scene. Thompson’s 43-year-old wife was treated and released, and their son was taken to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies told the Oneonta newspaper that Alves’ The license was suspended for charges of failure to answer summonses in several locations and for a having a suspended vehicle registration due to an insurance lapse. Charges are anticipated at the conclusion of the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The accident occurred, deputies said, when the vehicle Alves was driving west at about 4:40 p.m. on state Route 206, outside the village of Walton crossed over the center line. It struck the vehicle being driven by Thompson, head-on. The passengers in Thompson’s vehicle were both transported to Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton. His wife, Wendy Hoeben, 43, was treated and released, but their 6-year-old son, whose name was not released, was transferred to Westchester Medical Center for further treatment. His injuries were not believed to be life threatening, DuMond said.
As a result of the crash, state Route 206 was shut down for several hours, while state police accident collision reconstruction experts investigated the accident.
