Oct. 25--ALBANY -- A speeding State Police cruiser did not have its flashing emergency lights on when it drove through a red light on Washington Avenue and broadsided a taxi in February, seriously injuring the cabdriver, according a report detailing the agency's investigation of the wreck.
The report -- a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union -- cites previously undisclosed video of the violent collision captured by the in-car camera of an Albany police sergeant trailing the troopers' car as it sped west down Washington Avenue in search of a speeder who eluded them minutes earlier.
The recording also confirms that the State Police car drove into the intersection with North Allen Street against a red light, counter to what both troopers initially told investigators in the hours after the wreck and the agency's first public statements on the crash, according to notes attached to the 14-page report.
State Police later acknowledged in a brief statement released in April that the troopers ran the light in the crash, which occurred just before 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 25.
A separate recording made about two minutes before and 1.3 miles east of the crash by another Albany patrol car depicts the troopers driving through a red light and crossing a double yellow line at the intersection of Washington and Lexington avenues -- also without emergency lights on, according to the report.
By that point -- according to what both troopers told investigators -- they had already lost sight of the car they were chasing.
Still, a GPS tracking device on board their 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor recorded the unit's speed as high as 60 mph -- or double the posted speed limit -- less than a quarter-mile before impact, the report says.
But State Police pegged the speed of the patrol car at the time of the wreck much lower -- between 39 and 41 mph -- and noted that the recording of the crash shows that Trooper Patrick Shufelt hit the brakes for seven-tenths of a second before his cruiser broadsided the 2005 Buzzy's Taxi Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Michael Zeoli.
Shufelt and his passenger, Trooper Jason McCanney, told investigators the reason Shufelt slowed down and turned the emergency lights off was because they heard a radio transmission from city police that the car they were searching for was actually on Western Avenue.
The taxi, which investigators said was traveling between 42 and 45 mph, was heading south on North Allen Street after picking up two passengers at Bobby T's Sports Grill about six blocks north of the crash scene.
Zeoli, now 62, and a backseat passenger, Peter Milano, were not wearing their seat belts and were thrown from the van's windows by the force of the impact, landing in a snow-covered side yard of 856 Washington Ave.
Zeoli -- a longtime taxi driver -- suffered a broken neck, four broken ribs and a broken collarbone. A day after the wreck, Zeoli suffered a stroke that will likely stop him from ever driving a taxi again, his attorney, Joseph Granich, said.
Milano, now 23, suffered a broken arm.
Both men have filed a notice of intent with the state, preserving their right to sue over the crash, according to the attorney general's office. Milano is the son of state Court of Claims Judge Frank Milano. Lawsuits against the state are litigated in the Court of Claims.
According to the State Police report, Milano declined to be interviewed about the crash a month after it happened on the advice of his attorney, Stephen Coffey. Coffey declined to comment on the report, but said he saw no conflict with Milano's father's status as a judge.
"His father has nothing to do with it," Coffey said.
Milano's friend, John Pedlow, who was sitting in the front passenger's seat and was wearing his seat belt, was not seriously injured. Pedlow told investigators that he was in the process of paying the fare to Zeoli just before the crash, but said he believed Zeoli was looking up at the road at the time of the wreck, not making change, as troopers initially said.
Pedlow, who said he was looking down at his wallet when the collision happened, told investigators Zeoli had given him partial change for a $20 bill and told him to wait for the rest.
Neither trooper was seriously injured despite the fact that both were not wearing their seat belts.
Granich declined to comment on the report other than calling it "well-written and detailed." He did note, however, that Zeoli's injuries will likely affect him the rest of his life. "He was severely injured," Granich said, "and he will never be able to drive in a professional capacity again."
Investigators concluded that the two drivers would have been able to see each other for less than a second and a half before impact and that neither driver tried to avoid the collision.
Lt. Glenn Miner, a State Police spokesman, said the agency has no blanket policy governing when troopers are allowed to drive through red lights without their emergency lights and sirens on. State Vehicle and Traffic Law allows police vehicles to speed and run red lights without emergency lights or sirens "after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation."
Miner, declining to comment specifically on the February crash, said troopers are trained to use their judgment, with the primary goal being to ensure the safety of themselves, other drivers and pedestrians. He also said it would be impossible to create a policy that could govern every conceivable situation a trooper might encounter on the road. "Safety is supposed to be the paramount," Miner said.
In a similar case, the estate of a 21-year-old man killed in 2009 after the car in which he was riding was struck by an Albany patrol car that ran a red light while responding to an emergency received $250,000 in insurance settlements.
In that case, which was settled before going to court, State Police investigators concluded the Albany officer had his lights and siren on at the time of the crash.
Reach Carleo-Evangelist at 454-5445, [email protected] or on Twitter @JCEvangelist_TU
Copyright 2011 - Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
