Two fatal accidents occurred over the weekend in Albany County, killing two local motorcyclists.
Gary Charbonneau, 46, of Ballston Lake was pronounced dead at the scene after colliding with a street sweeper at approximately 1:48 a.m. Saturday on Route 9 near Crescent Terrace. The motorcycle caught fire after the crash and was extinguished by responding emergency units. No other passengers were on the motorcycle at the time of the crash.
The sweeper, a 2008 Chevrolet road sweeper, was driven by Boyie Maharaj, 55, of Schenectady.
When Maharaj was cleaning the roadway in front of the Colonie landfill, he was rear-ended by the northbound motorcycle. Maharaj, an employee of Russell Sweepers LLC of Clifton Park, was taken to Ellis Hospital for evaluation.
Boght Community Fire Department responded and closed Route 9 for several hours while investigators worked the scene. The cause of the accident is still under investigation by Colonie police.
The following morning in downtown Albany, another fatal motorcycle accident occurred on the Quay Street ramp to Broadway.
A 36-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released, was traveling the wrong way on the ramp when he lost control of the bike and was ejected onto the street below, Albany police said.
Police responded to the unconscious, unresponsive body at 3 a.m. Sunday in the area of Centre and Water streets. Officers then located an unoccupied motorcycle on the ramp above that had clearly been involved in an accident.
Albany police accident reconstruction specialists were called to the scene to reconstruct the accident and figure out exactly what happened.