Warren County officials are conducting safety evaluations of a section of the Warren County Bikeway in Lake George where a deadly motorcycle crash happened last month.
On Tuesday, an indictment was handed down against the motorcyclist, Anthony Futia, 33, where he faces a whopping 13 charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated.
On June 12th, police say Futia was operating his motorcycle at a high speed on Rt 9 when he veered off the road onto the bike path striking a group of pedestrians near Lake George Expedition Park.
The crash killed 8-year old Quinton Delgadillo and 38-year old James Persons.
Now, officials with Warren County are looking into ways safety can be improved in that particular area of the county’s bike path.
Lake George Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson said there are talks about possibly extending the guard rails in that section of the bike path.
But since Rt. 9 is a state highway, the guard rails in question are owned by New York State.
This means that the county, state and town need to work collectively.
Don Lehman, Director of Public Affairs with Warren County, says this may add a layer of complexity, but they are working together towards the common goal of improving safety.
Our Public Works superintendent Kevin Hajos and his staff, a number of engineers, are looking at the area there to try and figure out what if anything needs to be done there,” said Lehman. “They’re working with the state Department of Transportation as well as the Town of Lake George to figure out, you know, how they can proceed there.”
“So right now it’s all still under review. There’s no real decisions made,” said Lehman. “This is obviously a horrendous situation and it’s going to be fully and thoroughly reviewed and if any changes need to be made they will be made.”
Lehman says that the 9.4 mile long bike path has been safe, with last month’s crash being the first serious incident to have happened on it.
You’ve seen the indictment. This isn’t just your ordinary traffic accident. This is something that seems beyond that,” said Lehman.
The Warren County Bikeway stretches from the south tip of Lake George down to Glens Falls.