The Pine Plains Town Board voted July 16 to accept the resignation of Pine Plains police officer Brian J. Johnson after a patrol car he was driving struck a stopped vehicle from behind on Route 199, injuring Johnson and another officer.
The July 6 crash occurred at about 1:14 p.m. near Stissing Mountain Road, according to State Police. George Hill of Pine Plains was stopped in the westbound lane, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before turning left, when the police cruiser struck his vehicle from behind.
State Police said Hill was not injured and declined medical evaluation at the scene. Johnson sustained minor injuries, while Officer Aaron Fantroy, who was riding as a passenger, sustained more serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Fantroy was treated at Albany Medical Center and has since been released.
State Police concluded that driver inattention caused the crash and found no criminal conduct. No tickets or summonses were issued. Johnson told state investigators that he had been scanning the right shoulder and did not notice Hill’s stopped vehicle until the last second.
State Police completed its investigation before the board meeting. Hughes said the Pine Plains Police Department had also opened an internal investigation and administrative review. The investigation remains open, he said, adding that the department is seeking information from anyone who witnessed the crash.
Hughes said the department’s review of dash camera and body-worn camera footage found no indication that Johnson had been distracted by a cellphone or the cruiser’s computer immediately before the collision.
State Police previously told the Herald that Johnson was not tested for alcohol or drugs after the crash. Hughes told the board that the state and local investigations had determined that Johnson was not under the influence.
Johnson, who was hired in July 2025, voluntarily resigned during the investigation, Hughes said. The Town Board voted unanimously, 5-0, to accept his resignation.
Farm Market and Zoning Hearings
The board scheduled two public hearings for Aug. 20.
A hearing at 7:05 p.m. will address proposed regulations intended to make it easier to establish year-round farm markets in Pine Plains. The town dropped an earlier effort to revise its farm stand rules after receiving comments from Dutchess County planning officials.
The proposed law would allow farm markets as principal or accessory uses in several zoning districts, subject to Planning Board site plan review and a special use permit. At least one-third of annual agricultural sales would have to come from the market property or another agricultural property within 500 miles. Markets could also hold as many as four farm or harvest festivals each year with Planning Board approval.
A second hearing will address parcels of 5 acres or less that lie partly in the town’s Hamlet-Main Street district and partly in its more restrictive Hamlet-Residential district.
Under current code, the less restrictive Main Street zoning rules extend only 30 feet beyond the district boundary into a split parcel. The proposed amendment would extend the less restrictive portion to the parcel’s rear lot line. It replaces an earlier proposal that would have required affected owners to seek area variances, an approach criticized by Dutchess County planning officials.
Rescue Squad Reviews Calls Ahead of County Data
Before Dutchess County had released official EMS data for either of the first two quarters of 2026, Pine Plains Rescue Squad Second Lt. Nelson Zayas presented the squad’s own review of its calls.
Zayas said the county’s eventual figures could show more nonresponses than the squad’s records because county reporting generally measures when an ambulance arrives. Pine Plains volunteers sometimes reach patients earlier in personal vehicles or the squad’s fly car, which carries medical equipment but cannot transport patients.
Dutchess County has described fly cars as an important part of the EMS system because they can reach emergencies first and provide care until an ambulance arrives. Ambulance arrival remains a separate measure, however, because an ambulance can continue treatment while transporting a patient to a hospital.
Based on his review, Zayas said 12 of the squad’s 65 second-quarter calls could be recorded as nonresponses, a rate of 18.5%. He argued that only three were actual nonresponses, or 4.6%, because local EMTs reached several scenes even when the ambulance was unavailable.
The squad’s average response time for the highest-priority calls was 7 minutes, 18 seconds during the second quarter and 8 minutes, 18 seconds for the first six months of the year, Zayas said.
Town Board member Jeanine Sisco asked Zayas to return after the county releases its statistics so the figures can be compared. Zayas said a county representative should also attend to explain the county’s calculations.
In other business, the board authorized the Police Department to apply for a state grant that officials said could provide as much as $100,000 for additions to its Axon body-camera system. Applications are due Sept. 2.
Police Sgt. Steve Camburn said the department is seeking software upgrades to its existing system, not replacement body cameras. The proposed software could use recorded camera information to generate draft police reports and provide real-time language translation.
The next Pine Plains Town Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 20.