Local man dies in accident during storm

By STEPHEN BARTLETT
Staff Writer

December 03, 2007 06:36 pm

— SARANAC — A Cadyville man was killed in an accident on slippery roads Monday morning.
Daryll Paquette, 34, was pronounced dead upon arrival at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.
He was driving his Chevrolet on Route 3 about one mile west of Standish Road in the Town of Saranac around 8:04 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, State Police said.
The Chevrolet slid across the center line of the road and into the path of a 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck operated by Richard L. Swift, 58, of South New Berlin.
Swift attempted evasive action, State Police said, but his truck collided with the driver’s side door of Paquette’s car, pushing both vehicles off the south shoulder of the road.
Saranac Rescue Squad took Paquette to CVPH Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
State Police said Paquette was driving too fast for road conditions.
An autopsy attributed the death to multiple blunt force trauma to his chest and abdomen.
Clinton County Coroner David Donah ruled the manner of death accidental.
The accident was investigated by uniform and Bureau of Criminal Investigation personnel, including the Troop B Collision Reconstruction Unit and Troop B Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit.
State Police will list the accident cause as unsafe speed for road conditions and failure to keep right on the part of Paquette.

OTHER ACCIDENTS
Except for the fatal accident, few crashes during Monday’s storm involved injuries, State Police said.
A Greyhound bus bound for Montreal slid off Interstate 87 near exit 31 in the Town of Westport at about 5 a.m. Monday.
The bus ended up in the median next to the northbound lanes, stuck in the snow.
Passengers were shifted to a second bus that was sent to the site, but State Police said none were injured.
A heavy wrecker pulled the bus out at about 8:30 a.m. Police said the bus’s transmission was jammed in gear, which necessitated extra work to remove it.

— Staff Writer Lohr McKinstry contributed to this report.