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Emergency crews in Greene County first got word of the crash at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, when 911 callers reported a dump truck striking a home in Ashland, near State Route 23 and West Settlement Road.
By the time police and firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames and fire had spread to a neighboring home, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
A group of workers who were in the area tried to rescue the woman, but were kept back by the intense heat and flames, police said.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. She was later identified as Chasondra McGill, age 37, of Schenectady.
The truck was one of several that have been contracted by Callanan Construction to repave State Route 23, according to police.
Investigators determined that the tandem axle dump truck was heading southbound on West Settlement Road on a steep grade when the driver lost control and was unable to stop.
The truck then crossed Route 23 before crashing into the house, which was vacant at the time and immediately caught fire, police said.
Flames then spread to a neighboring home that was also destroyed. The heat was so intense that it even damaged the siding on a third house located across the street, police said.
An Ashland firefighter who tried to rescue the woman was treated for smoke inhalation at Albany Medical Center.
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