Hasidic teacher from NYC killed in upstate crash

A father of six is dead and his wife remains in critical condition in Westchester Medical Center after their minivan crashed head on with another vehicle Sunday night en route to their son’s bar mitzvah.

Peisach Goldberg, 45, of Brooklyn, was killed and his wife, Toba, was flown from the scene. Goldberg’s funeral was held yesterday in Borough Park before hundreds of friends and family.

The couple’s minivan crashed head on with a Ford Explorer around 8:45 p.m. on Thompsonville Road near the Raleigh Hotel.

Four daughters and two sons, ranging in age from 2 to 16, sustained injuries. The 16-year-old was admitted to hospital with a hip injury, according to authorities.

The driver of the Ford, James Krueger of Pine Bush, his wife and 10-year-old twin sons were also injured, but not seriously.

The accident happened on a straight section of the road. Both cars left skid marks.

“We are still trying to determine the reason (for the accident),” Lt. John Calvello of Fallsburg police said.

Goldberg was a well-known biblical teacher in the Hasidic community, said Rabbi Bernard Freilich, the state police’s special assistant to the superintendent.

“He was a scholar; he was a teacher, a great guy,” Freilich said.

It seems that the driver of the minivan swerved trying to avoid a kid on a bike, then hitting the large SUV head on.