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Fatal accident in Voorheesville


Spotlight Staff 08/10/11

Investigations are continuing into the accident that took the life of three elderly women this morning in front of St. Matthews Roman Catholic Church in Voorheesville.

Luann Burgess, 55, of Voorheesville was dropping off her 6-year-old son at Voorheesville Elementary School and began to head east on Mountainview Street towards home. According to Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple, her flip-flop sandal fell off near the gas pedal.

"We don't know what happened next," said Apple. "We do know she veered off the roadway, went into the parking lot and struck a group of three women on the sidewalk. It appears all three died instantly."

The three women standing outside the church were Carol Lansing, 66, of Green Island, Rosmarie Hume, 79, Waterford, Frances C. Pallozzi, 89, of Waterford. They are a part of the Empire State Volksporters, a group of nearly 50 hikers in the Capital District who Apple said would normally walk in that area on Wednesdays. They were waiting for a friend who had stopped into the church to go to the bathroom when they got hit.

"Literally as she walked into the bathroom the vehicle struck her three friends and went into the church," Apple said. "She was able to get into the church, but she's really in a lot of shock."

Burgess was taken to the Albany Medical Center Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

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Morning of horror in quiet churchyard
By Bryan Fitzgerald, DAYELIN ROMAN, and PAUL GRONDAHL Staff writers
Updated 11:20 p.m., Wednesday, August 10, 2011

VOORHEESVILLE -- Three friends were waiting for a scenic 5K walk through the village to begin Wednesday morning when they were struck and killed by a woman who lost control of her SUV outside a church off Route 85A, sheriff's officials said.

Carol Lansing, Rosemarie Hume and Frances C. Pallozzi, could not avoid the 2007 Toyota Highlander driven by LuAnn Burgess, who told Albany County sheriff's deputies the sandal slipped off her right foot and became wedged under the gas pedal.

Burgess, 55, accelerated uncontrollably, veered off the right shoulder of Mountainview Street, through the church parking lot and into the women and the corner of the building's brick wall.

Lansing, 66, Hume, 79, and Pallozzi, 81, were pronounced dead at the scene.

"I've been to murders, suicides, other terrible accidents," said Craig Apple, the former undersheriff who is now leading the sheriff's office. "But this was the toughest scene I've ever had to deal with."

The SUV's front passenger-side wheel broke off after the vehicle collided with the church and struck the women, Apple said. The vehicle then barrelled through the church's narrow vestibule for more than 30 feet, stopping on the vestibule steps when it crashed into the church's red-brick bell tower. A Mass was taking place at the time of the accident.

Pallozzi was found behind a bush next the corner of the church, Apple said. Lansing and Hume were dragged with the car until it came to a stop.

Hours after the accident, a green hat still hung upside down by its chinstrap in the bushes. A small white sneaker sat a few feet away.

Brian Nopper lives two houses down from the church. He was on his way home from a walk, getting ready to celebrate his 57th birthday with his family, when the accident occurred.

"At first I didn't think it was that bad," Nopper said. "Then I walked up and saw the SUV against the bell tower. I've never see anything like it." Nopper said he found a small silver watch belonging to one of the victims across the street and more than 60 feet from where the crash occurred.

Apple said Burgess, shaken and in shock, was still inside the vehicle when he arrived at the scene 15 minutes after the accident occurred.

She had just dropped her foster child off at Voorheesville Elementary School for a summer workshop and was driving to her Deerfield Court home when she lost control of the SUV. No one answered phone calls or knocks at the door to Burgess' home Wednesday.


District Attorney David Soares said a decision on whether charges will be lodged will be made after the investigation is completed.

Although the sheriff's office is awaiting results of an alcohol and drug screening, Burgess, who has a valid license and a clean driving record, is not believed to have been intoxicated at the time of the crash, Apple said.