Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Speed not factor in cycle crash

NORTH CANAAN — A crash involving a car and a motorcycle on Route 44 ended with two people hospitalized Saturday, July 24; one of them was airlifted to Hartford Hospital by a Life- Star helicopter.

Margaret Cser, 78, of Southfield, Mass., was driving west on Route 44 at about 2 p.m. when she attempted to turn left onto Lower Road. Derek Bronson, 27, of Morris was traveling east on a motorcycle.

Bronson’s 2008 Harley Davidson hit the right rear portion of Cser’s 2002 Volkswagen Jetta as it turned in front of him.

Bronson suffered serious arm and leg injuries. A helicopter was on standby because of the race that afternoon at Lime Rock Park. It was on the scene in minutes, landing in a nearby hayfield while North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance responders prepared Bronson to be flown to Hartford.

He was conscious when the first responders came to his aid, and he told them he knew his leg was broken.

A passenger in the Jetta, Beverly King of North Canaan, was treated on the scene for an arm injury, and taken to the hospital for evaluation.

State police were still investigating at press time. The speed of the motorcycle is an issue. Troopers were unable to find anyone at the scene who witnessed the crash.

The line-of-sight there, with westbound drivers coming up a rise, doesn’t allow motorists to easily see eastbound vehicles until they are very close to the intersection. Eastbound drivers who are exceeding the speed limit reduce the time a westbound driver has to turn safely.

People on the scene who heard the crash and saw what came afterward speculated that Bronson had been traveling at a high rate of speed.

He fell or was thrown from his bike as a result of the crash, and landed on Route 44 just east of Lower Road.

Ceil Ralph, who lives several houses farther east, said she looked out her front window in time to see a motorcycle traveling down the road without a rider.

It continued on for another two or three lots before crossing the road and traveling well up the steep slope of a front yard before coming to rest.

Investigating Trooper Nicholas Nigro said speed was not a contributing factor.

Lakeville Journal

Latest News

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.

Jay Ballesteros

Fast fashion has made it possible to buy the latest trend almost as quickly as it appears on social media. The environmental cost, however, is anything but fleeting. Fashion production accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, consumes enormous quantities of water and energy, and an estimated 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. Synthetic fabrics also shed microplastics when washed.

So what would happen if we slowed things down?

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
It’s a joyful process. —Susan Schneider

A beautiful September morning found Susan Schneider of Shandell’s working in her Ashley Falls home studio, while linen cocktail napkins she had marbled the day before hung on a line outside her back door. Her helpers, dogs Daisy and Stubbs, are never far from her.

“Marbling,” Schneider explained, “the art of floating paint on a liquid and printing it on a medium, has been around for hundreds of years.”

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Through the lens of war

Through the lens of war

“Omaha Beach Rescue, D-Day +1, Normandy, June 7, 1944.” one of the best-known photographs of D-Day.

Walter Rosenblum

Longtime Norfolk resident Nina Rosenblum will present her award-winning documentary, “They Fight With Cameras,” on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.

The film tells the story of her father, decorated U.S. Army Signal Corps combat cameraman Walter Rosenblum.

Keep ReadingShow less
film
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Filmmaker Brian Gersten

D.H. Callahan

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, award-winning filmmaker Brian Gersten will screen four short documentaries at the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, exploring obscure topics such as a lingering territorial dispute between the United States and Canada, a nationwide toilet paper panic sparked by a late-night joke, the infamous “Balloon Boy” saga and the history of bowling in America.

The Chicago-raised, Millerton-based filmmaker has worked as an editor on feature-length documentaries like the cycling film “Enter the Slipstream” and Netflix’s profile on author Tom Wolfe, “Radical Wolfe.” In 2025, “Why We Dream,” a film he edited about bringing D-Day veterans back to the beaches of Normandy, premiered aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City. When it comes to directing, Gersten’s own interests focus more on the underappreciated and unremembered, as the four short films he directed will demonstrate.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show
Muriel Stockdale, left, and judge Roger McKee during the awards announcement at the juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church. Stockdale\u2019s \u201cKevin\u201d was the second place winner.
Patrick L. Sullivan

The annual juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock was won by Mi-Kyung Hwang of Sharon for “Wild Hazelnut from Eggleston.”

The winners were announced at the show’s opening reception at the church Friday evening, Sept. 18.

Keep ReadingShow less
art show

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

Graham Nash brings a career-spanning retrospective to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, joined by Todd Caldwell, Adam Minkoff and Zack Djanikian.

Misti Layne

Imagine stepping out onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of tired, wet and weary strangers with a lineup of songs they’ve never heard before. If you’re Graham Nash, who will perform with his current band at the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, you don’t have to imagine. You only have to remember.

The legendary Woodstock music festival was only the second concert Nash played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nash had already formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, releasing their debut album earlier that year. Theirs was a sound both new and nostalgic when it hit the scene in the late 1960s, and, thanks in part to the success all three members had had with previous bands, they instantly found a wide and willing audience.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.