Boy dies in freak accident

Six-year-old Christian Martinisi died last night in a freak accident on Clemence Drive in Cornwall.

Shortly after 6 p.m., he got out of the family car after arriving home with his mother and younger brothers. While his mother, Cara Martinisi, tended to an infant, the two older boys entered the house through the garage. (They had been told to run inside and take off their shoes.)

A moment later, Mrs. Martinisi heard a crash and a scream. A cement lolly column had flipped out, hitting Christian and knocking him down. He was rushed to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, where he was pronounced dead.

The following morning,  Chief Todd Hazard said the accident was still under investigation.

This was a temporary residence for the Martinisi family. Their home on Pin Oak Drive was hit by lightning on July 3. Christian was due to start first grade at Willow Avenue School next Wednesday.