Colonie police investigating fatal crash on Central Avenue

Colonie police are investigating after a man was killed in a crash on Central Avenue Friday.

It happened just before 2:00 a.m.

Police say 36-year-old Christopher Welter, of Medford, Massachusetts, was heading east on Central Avenue in a Hyundai. That’s when he crashed into the back of a box tractor trailer that was stopped at a light at Jupiter Lane.

The driver of the tractor trailer was fine, but Welter was pinned inside his vehicle. He had to be extracted by firefighters, and later died from his injuries at the scene.

Colonie police tell NewsChannel 13 Welter was staying at a hotel on Wolf Road in preparation to fly out of the airport.

Now, they are working to figure out what caused him to crash.

"We are looking at various factors. Potentially, speed could be one of them," said Lt. Donnelly. "Driver distraction, the fact the witness doesn’t really see any slowing of the vehicle, indicates maybe his attention was elsewhere. Those things we are hoping to come up with during the investigation."

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to give them a call at 518 783-2744.