Tractor pushes car sideways down Main Street into the city

Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 5:00pm
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A tractor from My-T Acres pushed a car with two people in it sideways eastbound down Main Street this evening.

The tractor struck at least two other vehicles and caused at least one minor injury.

Incredibly, neither of the two people in the car pushed by the tractor were injured.

"If it (the car) had flipped over, we would both be dead," said driver Gene Laney. "There is no way we could get out."

The tractor only stopped after a passerby jumped up on the driver-side running board, according to Laney and a police officer, and banged on the glass and yelled at the driver, who eventually heeded the message and turned the tractor off.

The tractor finally stopped in the vicinity of 355 W. Main St.

The hero who helped get the tractor stopped was apparently no longer on scene five or 10 minutes later and police on scene did not know who he was.

Witnesses describe the unidentified tractor driver as in a daze.  It is not known why he drove the vehicle in this manner from Lewiston Road onto Main Street.

County Emergency Coordinator Tim Yaeger happened to be in the area at the time the call went out and tried to get the tractor driver to stop, even pulling in front of the tractor with lights and sirens to draw the driver's attention.

No further information is available at this time.

Posted by Chris Olin on May 26, 2009 - 6:09pm
http://thebatavian.com/blogs/kniebch/2009-national-safe-tractor-and-farm...

Note that I'm simply being a smart ass. The program is only offered for teenagers.
Posted by JT Hunt on May 26, 2009 - 6:44pm
that would have made one hell of a youtube video. amazed the car's driver side tires didn't give out.
Posted by George Richardson on May 26, 2009 - 6:58pm
(chorus) Breaking the law, breaking the law. Breaking the law, breaking the law.
- Judith Priest.
That's what I'm talking about!
Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 7:05pm
Just a reminder, this was a very serious incident. Two people came very close to death.
Posted by Jimmie Mac Magnolia on May 26, 2009 - 7:25pm
Judas Priest perhaps??? I know Halford is gay and all but Judith?
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 26, 2009 - 7:33pm
Is a tractor like that ,meaning with those kind of track type wheels allowed on the roads..You would think something that oversize would have a vehicle in the front and back warning others of a wide load..i guess the farmers in the area are having a bad day..Torrey farms and My-T acres..i saw this same Tractor the other day going down Clinton St.Did the driver of the Tractor get a ticket..Good thing no one get hurt..
Posted by George Richardson on May 26, 2009 - 7:38pm
Enjoy every moment of your life, you have no idea how tenuous your grip on it really is. The occupants of the car will feel fine after they receive the settlement check, but it could have been tragic. I joke only because I know it wasn't. Thanks Howard, I feel a real connection to my past because of your fine webpage and I don't mean to mess with you.
Posted by Bob Price on May 26, 2009 - 8:09pm
Maybe a medical condition of tractor driver? The person who jumped onto the tractor was not too smart-if he slipped,he would have been crushed.At least the implement was raised.These are ok to drive on road-have rubber tracks.It's been a few years since I've worked on a farm-I think they need a vehicle in back after dark-I believe most implements nowadays have turn signals on them,but they must have the SMV triangle attached on rear also.
Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 8:21pm
George, don't sweat it, I just didn't want the conversation to get too out of hand along those lines.

Having spoke with Gene, I empathize with what he and his passenger must have gone through.

I wasn't too clear in my original post, mainly because the information is still very sketchy -- but there was some issue, and I don't want to speculate more than that, with the driver. There was nothing intentional, I don't believe about the driver's actions.

Stupid or not, the guy who jumped on the tractor is a hero in my eyes. Isn't that what heroes do -- stupid things that risk their own lives to save others? Who knows much further that car could have been pushed before its wheels gave way and the car was flipped over?

I hope the hero is eventually identified, either by the police or because he steps forward. I'd like to interview him.
Posted by Bob Price on May 26, 2009 - 8:36pm
You're right,Howard.He IS a hero-I would hate to have seen the damage/injuries this would've caused if went off the street-hard to believe it was only the one car,being how congested that part of West Main is-
Posted by Jessica Budzinack on May 26, 2009 - 9:40pm
PS To my families Hero...words cannot say how grateful we are that you saved so many lives today. You are an angel. Thank you whoever you are!
Posted by Jessica Budzinack on May 26, 2009 - 9:50pm
The occupants of the car will feel fine after they receive the settlement check,.......not true.......im sure he is more concerned about his healing from a broken hip...he's not that type.
Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 10:10pm
Jessica, the Gene Laney I talked to showed no sign of injury. He was walking around.
Posted by Jessica Budzinack on May 26, 2009 - 10:25pm
It is the same Eugene Laney...In the hospital getting xrays. My mother had informed me around 10p he has a broken hip. I wouldn't tell you if it wasn't. The fact of of the matter is that the previous postings were not very nice and he was indeed injured (and in shock). Maybe you should check into it a bit more and update your information...(wasnt being rude to you...just your commenters)
Posted by David Dodge on May 26, 2009 - 10:29pm
That would have made one hell of a YouTube video indeed.
Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 10:47pm
Jessica, hospitals don't release patient information these days, so there is nothing to check on.

Further, I sent you a private e-mail and gave you a chance to edit your first comment, and since it wasn't changed, I deleted it.
Posted by Robin Ettinger on May 26, 2009 - 11:00pm
For those of you interested. I am Gene Laney's daughter. Gene Laney is the accident victim in the blue Focus. I just took him home. He has a hip injury, and Thank the Lord, it's not broken. Anyone who knows my father, a long time Batavia business man, will not be surprized to know that before he went to the hospital he wanted to check on the other accident victims. Yes, all people in the six cars are victims. Some of you may laugh and joke about settlements and videos, my only hope is that you never have this happen to a member of your family. My heart fell when a bystander called me and told me that my father was in an accident. You will never know how awful it is to know what my father and his passenger endured or to see the tractor impacted into my father's car. I thank the Lord for the man that stopped the tractor. There are so few people that have that kind of blind courage. I thank everyone that helped all the victims of that accident. Gene's children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, siblings and friends would not find a YouTube video awsome. I'm not doing this to pick a fight, but to let you know that real people are hurting and it's not funny. One of those cars had children in it.
Posted by randy dickes on May 26, 2009 - 11:30pm
Aunt Robin has it exactly right. anyone that thought that would make a great video, have that happen to you. Im grateful to anyone that helped my grandfather and the other victims. to the others laughin i got words for ya. sinnersaint says hi :)
Posted by Amanda Dickes on May 27, 2009 - 9:50am
Hello I am one of Gene's grandchildren as well. We do not appreciate the whole You Tube thing either. It is not a joke, just because he walked away from the accident does not mean he is gonna get some little setllement and be happy. He has quite a bit of recovery to go through. I thank God that theat person they are calling a "HERO" took his mindless act to jump up on the tractor, if it weren't for him my grandpa would not be here today. I have not really spent as much time with him as I should have, It just goes to show no matter what make time for your family members no matter what. You never know when you are going to lose them to anything. Thank you "HERO" and to those who like to make joke, you wouldn't want to YOUTUBE it if it were your family that it happen to. Thank you all for your comments and prayers, he doesn't have a broken hip though, he has really bad hips and they thought he had one when he went into the hospita, But he will make it through a painful recovery. The good thing is though he is alive and gets to spend more time with us.


Amanda
Posted by Lazlo Toth on May 27, 2009 - 5:11pm
The hero is Jerry Newell.

Gene seemed pretty fine after the tractor was stopped and he finally got out of the car. He was ready to throw down and was making threats to kill the other guy.
Posted by George Richardson on May 28, 2009 - 9:37am
The car was pushed 3/10ths of a mile. The story didn't mention that.
Posted by Ray Yacuzzo on May 28, 2009 - 8:28am
Lazlo Toth? Isn't that the name of the guy who chipped the nose off of Michaelangelo's Pieta many years ago?
Posted by Ray Yacuzzo on May 28, 2009 - 8:47am
It just dawned on me that Lazlo Toth was also a name used by the guy who formerly played Guido Sarducci (Don Novello?). Somebody is spoofing us.
Posted by Howard Owens on May 28, 2009 - 6:46pm
Looking into it.
Posted by Russ Stresing on May 28, 2009 - 6:58pm
How much credence can you put into the accusations of a man who's name sounds suspiciously like a Japanese crime syndicate?

Yacuzzo - yakuza http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza
Posted by Gabor Deutsch on May 28, 2009 - 7:07pm
Thats not cool Russ. I still get hounded by my real name. I was accused of being female earlier. (i do feel pretty). If u google my name u wont get me but someone else. Some people think I am mexican too !
teehee. (damn gotta stop that TH thing I just hate lol).
Posted by Charlie Mallow on May 28, 2009 - 7:12pm
Are you kidding?? Ray is a real person and a friend of mine. He was the Democratic County Chair.
Posted by Russ Stresing on May 28, 2009 - 7:13pm
Gabor,
I know Ray Yacuzzo and you, sir, are no Ray Yacuzzo.

And thank your lucky stars for that.
Posted by Gabor Deutsch on May 28, 2009 - 7:27pm
I thought it was a real names thing. It gets real confusing at times. I have never met a person named Marco without at least mumbling "polo".