Victims of Fatal Crash on Route 22 Identified

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that the victims of a head-on crash on Route 22 in Southeast on Tuesday (see article on crash here) have been identified. The crash claimed the life of one man and sent a husband and wife to the hospital with injuries.

Killed in the crash was Mr. Gelsomino Lombardo, aged 59, of Hopewell Junction, in Dutchess County. Injured were Mr. Peter V. Cardone, aged 72, and his wife, Mrs. Josephine C. Cardone, aged 69, both of Bayside in Queens.

According to preliminary reports, Mr. Lombardo was driving alone in a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse at about 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, heading northbound on Route 22 just north of the Milltown Road intersection in Southeast. His car crossed over into the southbound lane of the road and ran head-on into a 2015 Mercedes Benz SUV that Mrs. Cardone was driving, and in which Mr. Cardone was riding in the front passenger seat.

Deputy Sheriffs Kevin Radovich and Thomas Curran were patrolling in a car on Route 22 and came upon the crash just moments after it occurred. They found the Cardones in their vehicle, both with injuries but conscious and alert. They found Mr. Lombardo in his car, unconscious and with no vital signs.

The deputies extracted Mr. Lombardo from his car, assisted in that task by a passing federal Homeland Security Investigator, Agent Brian Dalrymple. The deputies then commenced CPR on Mr. Lombardo. Minutes later, state troopers arrived on the scene with an automated external defibrillator (AED), which the troopers and deputies administered to the victim. A paramedic arrived on the scene and joined in the efforts to revive Mr. Lombardo. All those efforts proved to be of no avail, however, and Mr. Lombardo was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr. and Mrs. Cardone were taken to Danbury Hospital by the Brewster Ambulance Corps and the Patterson Ambulance Corps, respectively; she with suspected injuries to her ankle, back and neck and he with apparent injuries to his neck and back. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The crash and ensuing investigation caused the closure of Route 22 for about four hours, with the roadway being reopened to traffic just before 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.