Hudson Valley News

Hudson Valley Village judge dies in car crash

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published November 14, 2012 at 8:00 PM EST

Authorities say the longtime judge for a Hudson Valley village has died after his car crashed into a tree. WAMC's Dave Lucas has details.

Police in the Orange County town of Montgomery tell the Times Herald-Record of Middletown that 76-year-old David Roepe was driving on Route 28 Tuesday afternoon when his car went off the road and slammed into a tree.

He was brought to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, where he was pronounced dead.

Police say a medical condition might have contributed to the crash.

Roepe was a lawyer and a part-time judge for the Village of Montgomery Court. In February, he marked 40 years as a village judge.

Hudson Valley News

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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