Schroon, New York - November 21, 2011
Nearly 24 hours after a deadly hit and run crash on the Adirondack Northway in Schroon, police believe they have located the vehicle that fled the scene.
It was found early Monday afternoon just north of New York City.
"The trooper was on patrol, saw a vehicle that was on the side of the road, stopped, interviewed the driver and found out it was wanted for questioning," said New York State Police Lt. Scott Heggelke.
Police say 59-year-old Thomas Lafountain and his sister, 65-year-old Mary Morrissey, were on their way from Mechanicville to Ausable Forks to visit family Sunday morning. But the trip was cut short when they were allegedly rear-ended by another vehicle, sending them off the road and into a ditch.
Lafountain suffered minor injuries, but his sister died at the scene. Police began a manhunt across New York, Vermont and Canada. Police won't say what specific tip led them to the suspect's vehicle.
"We don't want to divulge at this time, but through a number of interviews that we had and I also want to state that from the public's help -- the public was a big help," Lt. Heggelke said.
Police say they recovered a large amount of evidence from the crash site and now hope that will help them solve the case. "We have a lot of forensic evidence to collect and examine," Lt. Heggelke said.
Detectives are travelling south and plan to search the car for evidence Tuesday. They are also trying to determine who was driving it at the time of the crash Sunday.
