BETHLEHEM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Some residents in Bethlehem are raising concerns about a section of Route 85 that they said has been the site of too many accidents over the last few years. According to a Bethlehem Town Board member, there have been six serious crashes on Route 85 in the last three years.
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Thousands of cars drive down Route 85 in Albany County each day. Jason Tice, assistant chief of the Slingerlands Fire Department estimated that he responds to a serious accident on Route 85 at least once a year.
“When we get called to Route 85, we know it’s going to be something. It’s not just a fender bender,” said Jason Tice. “They seem to be getting worse and the accidents we are responding to seem to be getting more serious in nature every time.”
In just the last two years, 53-year-old Shawna Marzahl and 17-year-old Michael Kleinke were both killed in two separate crashes on Route 85. One resident, Elaine Clifford Barnes, told NEWS10’s Vanessa Blasi that she drives along Route 85 every day, twice a day. She said she was only a few minutes behind Marzahl when that accident happened in 2024…