Two drivers died after a head-on crash on state Route 28 in Shokan early Sunday, Aug. 23, state police said.
Peter Bonenfant, 19, of Smithtown, Suffolk County, was driving west near 3558 state Route 28 at about 6:47 a.m. when his 2024 Chevrolet crossed into the eastbound lane for reasons that have not been determined yet, police said. The car struck a 2021 Mercedes-Benz driven by Philip Jacobus, 72, of New York City.
Emergency crews extricated the men from their vehicles and provided lifesaving treatment before Olive First Aid transported them to HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston.
Bonenfant died at HealthAlliance, police said. Jacobus was transferred to MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, where he later died.
Jacobus was the founder and chief executive officer of DOTmed, an online marketplace for medical equipment. The company confirmed his death Monday.
Jacobus launched DOTmed in 1998 and also published HealthCare Business News. He had worked in the medical equipment industry for more than 40 years and conducted business in more than 30 countries, according to his LinkedIn profile and a short biography published by HealthCare Business News.
Olive Fire Chief Chris Winne said in a Facebook post that firefighters began extricating the drivers immediately after arriving.
“Both patients were extricated within 19 minutes of the first arriving apparatus,” Winne said. “Olive First Aid’s second ambulance, Woodstock paramedic unit, and the city of Kingston with a paramedic unit were requested to the scene to assist with the medical treatment and transport.”
State Route 28 was closed for five hours on Sunday, reopening at 11:45 a.m., as a result of the crash, Winne said.
An investigation remains ongoing.
New York State Police and the Olive Fire Department were assisted by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, Olive Police Department, Olive First Aid, and the New York State Department of Environmental Protection.
This is a developing story.
Noah Eckstein contributed reporting.
Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.
