HAD FOUR ACCIDENTS IN THREE YEARS
SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND TWO FALLSBURG OFFICERS SIGNED REPORTS
VICTIMS FROM 2 DIFFERENT INCIDENTS ALLEGE KANTROWITZ SHOWED NO CONCERN
The SullivanTimes has learned exclusively this morning (Sunday) that retired Fallsburg Justice Isaac Kantrowitz was involved in two additional accidents, one on March 22, 2016 in the ShopRrite parking lot of Monticello and another on April 24, 2018 that occurred on Route 42 in Fallsburg.
That makes four auto accidents in three years.
Before the tragedy one week ago today that killed two teens and injured a third, Kantrowitz struck a shopping cart being pushed by a man (Leonard Gross) directly in front of ShopRite, collided with a vehicle (driven by Megan Fessak) on Route 42 in Fallsburg , and struck a pedestrian (Irina Prokopenko) who suffered serious injuries on Glen Wild Road in Fallsburg.
The Department of Motor Vehicle accident report from the 2016 incident at ShopRite shows signatures by Deputy Sheriff Kevin Lupardo and Sgt. Blake Starner. The April 2018 report shows signatures by Fallsburg Police Officers John Chevalier and Tracey Scheuring. The accident report from the December 2018 incident involving the pedestrian on Glen Wild Road was also signed by Chevalier and Scheuring.
The SullivanTimes has reached out to Gross, the pedestrian in the ShopRite incident, as well as Megan Fessak of Hillsborough NJ , the driver in the Route 42 collision, which occurred just south of Beaver Lane.
Gross, 75, who worked at Kutsher's for 43 years, including organizing the famous Maurice Stokes' games, said late Sunday:
"He hit my cart and the force knocked me down," Gross said about Kantrowitz. "He never came over to apologize." Gross added that he did not pursue a civil suit since he was not seriously injured. He said he was "pissed off" that he had to pay a $200 bill for the Mobile Medic. "They (police) went to him (Kantrowtiz) first and were talking with him as if they knew him, " Gross said. "I was the victim but they went right to him. It seemed like they knew him and obviously if he was a judge they probably did." Gross said his former Kutsher's colleague, David Mayberg, was a witness to the aftermath of the accident.
In the April 2018 incident, Kantrowitz also allegedly showed little concern for the driver of the vehicle -- Megan Feslate -- according to her husband Paul Fessak. He told The SullivanTimes late Sunday that his wife told him that Kantrowitz even asked the police if he could get a ride because he was late for a meeting.
He added that official accident report does not reflect the totality of what really happened, adding that even if his wife should not have pulled into the intersection, "that car had ample time to slow down or stop and there were no skid marks there." He said his wife's car was struck from the rear. She did not receive any tickets. Megan Fessak is currently in Livingston Manor but has no cell service but we are told she would get back to The SullivanTimes on Monday.
Her stepson, John Fessak, told The SullivanTimes late Sunday that her car was totaled. Her vehicle and Kantrowitz's vehicle were towed to two different garages, according to the accident report. The accident report (below) also stated that no photographs were taken by law enforcement. But Paul Fessak said that he took many photos of the accident scene. Kantrowitz was driving a 2016 KIA and Fessak was driving a 2018 Chevrolet.
Jacob Billig previously served as the attorney for the Town of Fallsburg and the Town of Liberty, according to his biography. He is the son-in-law of Kantrowitz. The SullivanTimes has asked Town of Fallsburg Supervisor Steve Vegliante, who doubles as a police commissioner, for comment. This is a developing story. -- Rich Klein