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Accident Reports: Tractor pulling wagon full of 17 people has trailer hitch break

By Howard B. Owens

Seventeen people, including 11 children, managed to avoid injury after a tractor ride went wrong Sunday night when the trailer hitch broke on the tractor pulling them down Conlon Road.

Gregory J. Luetticke, 46, of Le Roy, who was driving the tractor, did report an injury. He complained of neck pain.

Luetticke was reportedly pulling the wagon down a grass laneway on Conlon when the hitch broke. Luetticke said when the hitch broke, he steered to the west and lost control of the tractor, causing the tractor to overturn. Luetticke was ejected from the tractor and came to rest to the northwest. The wagon stopped moving.

In the wagon were Billie J. Kennedy, 31, Alexa M. Kennedy, 6, Madailein M. Blonski, 5, Ashley Bottonfield, 10, Erica Ulrich, 15, Amber A. Williams, 8, Dominque M. Williams, 14, Mariah A. Williams, 12, Teresa Annecharicle, 35, Tyler M. Annecharicle, 35, Isabell Annecharicle, 10, Nicholas Rogers, 6, Zachary M. Rogers, 10, Colleen M. Rogowski, 39, Allison M. Rogowski, 8 and Lauren E. Wood, 8.

Bradley Brooks, 25, of Spencerport, failed to negotiate a turn on South Lake Road in Bergen Sunday afternoon and drove his motorcycle into a ditch. Brooks was ejected from the bike. He was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Brian D. Whitmore, 25, of Darien Center, suffered a fracture in his arm and collar bone after striking a deer while driving his motorcycle eastbound on Conway Road in Darien. The accident occurred Wednesday about 9 p.m.

No injuries were reported in a single-vehicle accident last night at 11:30 p.m. on Quinlan Road in Le Roy.

The 1996 Dodge coupe was driven by Matthew Derooy, 20, of LeRoy. Deborah J. Derooy, 24, was a passenger.

Derooy reportedly driving the car westbound on Quinlan Road when he drove off the north shoulder and hit a support wire to a National Grid utility pole. The vehicle then continued through a field and landed in a ditch.

No apparent cause is cited in the accident report.

Ron Melancon

When you get a moment please go to www.dangeroustrailers.org. I simply don't understand why we our Government does not address this on going concern. Do you relize that no Federal Regulations are in place for a Trailer Hitch?

Do you relize that since 1976 over 14,800 citizens have been killed by Passenger Cars That Tow Trailers. Since 1988 over 449,000 have been injured!

You can simply put on a Farm Tag on your Tractor or Trailer and no inspections are needed.

What is worse no training is needed to tow a trailer but yet people don't maintain them,,, and companies make them as cheap as possible. In fact one company called Carry On Trailers has tried to undo my reflector tape law in Virginia because it cost them 8 dollars to put it on the trailer.

In fact a person was just killed in Poughkeepsie New York because an axil broke on a trailer and they just left it on the side of the road....

Our Organization believes that if this trailer had reflector tape on the back... like School Buses, Tractor Trailers and EMS Trucks then they would have seen the trailer.

Is your Life worth 8 dollars? Not to some companies...

Also a Jury awarded a women in Nebraska over 8 million because of a defective trailer hitch...

What hitch was the Farmer using... Where are the recalls.

Our Organization features solutions to this on going concern... Please go to our web site and look for "Safety Sentry" and RV Education 101.

May 26, 2009, 5:54am Permalink

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