NEAL P. GOSWAMI

Staff Writer

HOOSICK, N.Y. -- A bicyclist remains in critical condition at Albany Medical Center as police continue to investigate the hit-and-run accident Monday that badly injured him.

Matthew Ratelle, 39, of Petersburgh, suffered massive trauma after being thrown 30 yards from his bike, police said in a news release issued Wednesday. Becky Goodermote, 37, of Hoosick Falls, left the scene of the crash without reporting it after striking Ratelle, according to police. She and the vehicle were located by police after a concerned family member reported that Goodermote had returned home on Monday morning with extensive damage to her vehicle that she could not explain.

Goodermote has been charged with leaving the scene of a serious personal injury accident, operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs, driving with a suspended registration and failure to use due care. She has already been arraigned on those charges and was remanded to the Rensselaer County Jail, where she remained Thursday afternoon, according to the jail.

On Thursday, a New York State Police spokesman said he would not comment on what investigators are looking into. "At the moment, so we don’t compromise the investigation, I’m not going to comment on that," said Trooper Mark Cepiel.

Meanwhile, confusion continued Thursday over Ratelle’s condition. Albany Medical Center listed Ratelle in critical condition on Thursday morning. But news reports emerged for the second day in a row that he had died as a result of his injuries. State police issued a news release Wednesday afternoon stating that Ratelle had died as a result of injuries in the crash. Follow-up with police led to a second release stating that Ratelle was alive, yet critically injured. Several news sources reported Ratelle’s death, however.

Cepiel said on Thursday that police were awaiting their own updates from the hospital and are monitoring his condition. "The latest information I have is Š critical condition at the hospital," he said. "I have a call in to them and I am awaiting information."

Procedures to ensure accurate information is released to the media and to the public broke down, Cepiel said. "I can say it was a miscommunication between the hospital and the investigators involved," he said. "Apparently, it wasn’t fool-proof."