Elba woman killed when car strikes tree on North Byron Road

Submitted by Howard Owens on November 8, 2011 - 8:18pm

State Police investigators are still uncertain about what caused a car heading westbound on North Byron Road this afternoon to go off the south shoulder and strike a tree on the driver's side.

Impact was right at the driver's seat and the car wrapped around the tree nearly to the point of the passenger's seat.

The driver, Linda Brown, 67, of Elba, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Robert Yungfleisch.

The accident occurred about a half mile east of Log City Road, Elba.

Trooper John Szymkowiak was first on the scene and said he checked Brown's vitals and did not detect a pulse. He requested Mercy Flight be dispatched to the scene.

An Elba medic arrived minutes later and the medic was also unable to detect a pulse and other vital signs were negative. Mercy Flight was canceled at that point.

The initial call to 9-1-1 was at about 3:50 p.m. by another westbound driver who came over the top of a hill, just east of the accident location, and saw the car strike the tree.

The witness did not see enough prior to impact to help provide information on what caused Brown's car to go off the road.

Szymkowiak said it appeared Brown started to go off the road about 100 feet prior to impact with the tree and there were some signs of braking on the road surface.

"The cause is still under investigation," Szymkowiak said. "It could have been a medical issue. It could have been a deer in the roadway. We are looking at several things right now."

An autopsy will be completed to try and determine if the cause was medical.

Updated at 8:29 p.m.

UPDATE: WBTA's Geoff Redick has video posted.

November 8, 2011 - 8:22pm

Dawn Vanderkooi

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Joined: Aug 29 2011

They haven't released the name of the driver yet but you posted pictures of the accident. That's terrible and you need to think about this woman's family and friends.

November 8, 2011 - 8:32pm

Howard Owens

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A) The State Police kept the media outside of the scene waiting for two hours. They let us in knowing that publication would happen shortly afterward and were comfortable with it. Nobody at the scene even hinted that we should delay publication for any reason.

B) The information that I received at the scene was that most, if not all, of the notifications were completed at that point. In the past, State Police have not allowed media on scene until notifications were completed. The reason given for not releasing the name was only "our investigation is not complete."

C) We always do our best to use discretion in covering fatal accidents.

In the past we've received positive feedback from family members of fatal accident victims for our timely and complete coverage. It saves them from answering a lot of questions at a tough time. Not every family is going to take it that way, of course, but I'm in no position to start predicting how publication is going to effect any particular family.

Without a complete picture of the situation, your criticism is off base.

November 8, 2011 - 8:46pm

(Reply to #2) #4

Gary Spencer

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Joined: Feb 18 2009

Dawn,
I agree with you!

November 8, 2011 - 8:51pm

Kyle Couchman

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This must be directly related to the "negativity" study the city did. Everyone whom seems to think that the world revolves around their moral compass has a criticism of how Howard handles delicate news items like this. I have an idea if you dont like the way he covers news, go start your own news site that only gives news the way you deem is proper. I have been here a few years now and haven't seen Howard handle any news haphazardly or inappropriately. I guess some comments really speak to how some people think.

Kudos Howard on standing your ground and handling things in a professional manner. You too Billie and all the other staff that Howard has nowadays. This is the first place I turn to when I want to know whats going on (And the fact they let me rant once in a while helps keep me loyal too.)

November 8, 2011 - 8:55pm

John Roach

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I am with Kyle on this.

November 8, 2011 - 9:42pm

Carol Magoffin

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I agree that this is a little graphic since the name wasn't released yet. What if it was ur grandmother? And u found one by looking at these pics. My step sister passed in a car accident. I'm with dawn on this one.

November 8, 2011 - 9:48pm

Tina Winters

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Mrs. Brown was a wonderful person. My heart goes out to her husband Pastor Brown and the rest of her family. Its hard to see the vehicle and to know what happened, but I know Howard acted with integrity in this situation as he always does when he posts accidents.

November 8, 2011 - 9:56pm

tj stone

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Joined: Mar 2 2011

Thats ok Dawn / Gary /and Carol.
First responders are aware of websites like this and their tactics. Depts are limiting what they allow on radios (over heard on scanners) and the access to scenes because of previous actions. Sadly it's money out of dept budgets that has to be used for this, where it could go towards more safety equipment.
Karma is a b***h

November 8, 2011 - 9:59pm

#10

Cindy Maloni

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Joined: Oct 6 2009

Howard did what every reporter would do and what we expect from him as a reporter. I am a good friend with a member of the family and I can tell you that before Howard posted this the family had been notified. They are a wondrful Christian family and I ask everyone to join me in a prayer for them. My heart is broken for what they are going through and through my tears I write this post.

November 8, 2011 - 11:51pm

#11

Gregory Bellavia

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Joined: Jul 1 2010

Unbelievable. This is cutting edge up to date news at it's finest and that's why the people of the community tune into Howard. We all know whats going on out there because of Howard's fast coverage and posts. i'm sure it's not easy to run out to the scene take photos gather accurate info get back to the Batavian and post the story (often before the Daily News)so the rest of us can know whats going on up the road or in the next town over.Howard has allways done a good job of not showing us the graphics that he himself probably saw when he was on the scene...This is what "News" is .If you can't handle it, then maybe news is not for you and you should just stick to playing Cafe world.

November 8, 2011 - 10:40pm

#12

Bob Price

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And yet my comment was "deleted" the other day when I posted that the hunter had passed away(that I learned from a Buffalo TV website,that I didn't specify) before they released name and Howard thought family members could figure it out if someone posted he died.....

November 9, 2011 - 12:12am

#13

Kyle Couchman

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Yep TJ karma is a bitch, you're right that first responders are aware of websites like this, and what you charaterize as tactics is actually regular procedure for them and the way they cover news. How they limit access to a scene or talk over the radio at the sacrifice of getting equipment I think is a bit of an exaggeration on your part, but way to go at making it more dramatic. I'm sure someone who is a first responder will correct you.

As explained by Howard earlier they already had contacted the family before the photos and detailed news was posted. Confirmed again by friends of the family as well. If you dont like the coverage go somewhere else for your news and discussion.

Hey Bob I understand your confusion but maybe think of it like this... You may have heard from a legit news source that got told it was ok to post. But Howard hadn't gotten the release yet so your post was deleted probably to err on the side of caution. Unlike accusations to the contrary I think he adheres admirably well to decorum and respectful discretion when it comes to these types of things. But I can tell he wont be bullied into not doing his job by those who's delicate insensibilities are offended by the way he covers stories, especially when they are indignant on the behalf of people they dont even know.

November 9, 2011 - 12:14am

#14

Howard Owens

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Joined: Apr 23 2008

Bob, between the comment on the hunter post and my comment on this post, the differences of situations should be clear, but just so there's no confusion, I'll spell them out again.

In the case of the hunter, we started reporting in real time what was happening at the scene with no way of really knowing how it would turn out. We of necessity reported details that might lead somebody with sufficient knowledge of the hunter to figure out his identity, such as the location of the tree stand and that he was with a friend in a blue truck. When Mercy Flight was canceled and the coroner called, I stopped the live updates. While somebody could reasonably guess the outcome at that stage, I felt some degree of ambiguity was best and opted not to report further without confirmation from the Sheriff's Office. If the Sheriff's Office confirms a death, with or without IDing the victim, then I figure if they're comfortable with putting that info out, so I can be comfortable -- and, and this is important -- at that point, I pretty much have an obligation to report what official sources are saying. When unconfirmed (in my mind) comments appeared reporting something of this serious nature that I hadn't personally confirmed through the Sheriff's Office, I wasn't comfortable with that appearing on my site. So I deleted a comment.

In this case, the initial report -- car into tree, serious injury -- was generic enough that reporting a fatality without actually talking to State Police was something I was comfortable doing because there was nothing we had reported up to that point that would ID the victim.

As far as the pictures go, as I explain above, there was just nothing coming from State Police or anybody else at the scene to indicate publication was inappropriate at that stage.

And as a final note -- It's a bit of circular logic, but the fact that decent, conscientious people disagree on this point sort of proves what I was saying earlier -- you can't please everyone ... some people are going to be upset by some of the things we publish when we publish them. I can't control that. Other people will support it or be appreciative of it. It's not my job to predict reactions. The day I become a soothsayer is the day I stop being a newsman. In the meantime, I'll call them as I see them. People are free to criticize me, but that isn't going to change the fact that in the final analysis, I'm the one who has to make a decision. When I'm comfortable with the decision, I'm going to stand by it -- as in this case. But I've also shown in the past that when I make a decision I later regret, I'm up front about it. I'm not going to get everything right. I got this one right.

November 9, 2011 - 12:24am

#15

Howard Owens

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Joined: Apr 23 2008

Regarding how things are covered in this more digital age...

The fact of the matter is, most of the conduct of first responders, particularly chiefs, was set long before The Batavian came along.

The big reason access to scenes can be a bitch sometimes is old school television cameramen who would photograph bodies and broadcast them, even when asked not to. I don't remember the details, but a Le Roy chief -- I think it was Le Roy -- told me a story from years and years ago where a TV crew was told not to photograph a graphic scene and were asked to keep a respectful distance. The cameraman found a way to sneak into the scene and get shots that upset a family.

When I first came along, I was often frustrated by the lack of access to scenes. I was kept away even from some fire scenes, depending on the chief. Now that I've proven myself a bit, it's much easier to get access to scenes.

We've also honed over time -- though I don't want to leave the impression that we're still not capable of mistakes -- how we report stuff off the scanner. We're more careful about how we handle some information, and that's based largely on feedback we've gotten form the chiefs.

We're newspeople, but we also try to be responsible citizens.

The news game is all about judgment calls. It's it's all subjective -- and since everybody, it seems, is a credentialed expert on journalism and media -- some people are going to disagree with how we do things. When they do, we'll either fess up to our mistakes or explain why we did what we did (hopefully, without sounding defensive, but we have feelings, too).

November 9, 2011 - 12:46am

#16

Bob Price

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Joined: Nov 15 2008

Sorry about my griping Howard-it's tough to please people-you're damned if you do,you're damned if you don't. This is still the best site for up to the minute(hell,up to the second) updates....just keep doing what you do,Howard-it IS appreciated.

November 9, 2011 - 12:48am

#17

Howard Owens

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Joined: Apr 23 2008

Thanks, Bob.

November 9, 2011 - 3:57am

#18

JT Hunt

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Joined: Dec 23 2008

suprised she didn't knock that tree over. it doesn't look tall or wide. must be deep rooted?

November 9, 2011 - 6:36am

#19

Frank Bartholomew

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Joined: Apr 4 2010

Come on people, this is a news site, and a damn good one at that. If you don't like what you see or read, why do you log on? Howard and the rest of his staff do an exellent job reporting news and articles that are pertinant to this area.
Unlike the tv crews, Howard isn't looking for ratings, he is reporting the news.

November 9, 2011 - 7:55am

#20

Lisa Falkowski

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Joined: Jun 23 2009

Thoughts and prayers go out to family and friends. This was a horrific accident.

November 9, 2011 - 8:07am

#21

Kyle Couchman

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Joined: Dec 25 2009

Howard.....isnt there a poll question brewing on this forum thread? LOL

November 9, 2011 - 8:15am

#22

Howard Owens

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Joined: Apr 23 2008

Kyle, not really. How we cover news isn't up to popular vote.

November 9, 2011 - 9:16am

#23

Gary Spencer

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Joined: Feb 18 2009

and this is what I (and probably most of us) REALLY like about this site, is the comments and being able to discuss the stories, and sometimes disagree and have these debates. I agree Howard does an AMAZING job and as has been said in the past there is no way to please everybody.

November 9, 2011 - 10:53am

#24

joe miano

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Joined: Jul 22 2011

Howard don't change a thing like others have said yourself and staff do a great job ( I have been in the fire service for 32 yrs.) its nice to have someone like you reporting in a respectful manner to all involved.

November 9, 2011 - 2:03pm

#25

George Richardson

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Joined: Dec 10 2008

The third photo is strange. It almost looks as if the tree grew through the car. My condolences for the premature loss of a life that meant a lot to so many people and it makes me appreciate every day even more knowing a piece of space trash could crash through my roof and kill me without a moments notice. I think the whole world needs to embrace life a lot harder and thank reality that it is a limited run. That's the best part, who wants to hang around forever if it mostly stinks? Make it as cool as it can be and hang on for every second of the ride. Does anyone know what the make and model of that car was? I don't think a Honda would have done that. I'm guessing a tie rod broke.

November 9, 2011 - 3:55pm

#26

Gregory Bellavia

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Joined: Jul 1 2010

heh, Ok so today is a perfect example .I just had to laugh because I heard sirens not to far from here, And as many people of the community now do,I logged into the Batavian and sure enough I found that there is an accident a few roads over and not only that, they are also detouring trafic onto my road. Live power lines are also down and national grid is on the way.that means I better hurry up and prepare my lunch because this area might possibly be loosing power soon. Once agian Thank You Batavian for the live info...That may be a little side tracked from this discussion but it is all relevant.

November 9, 2011 - 2:20pm

#27

George Richardson

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Joined: Dec 10 2008

Kyle and Howard,

When do you have car maintenance done once the warranty expires, if you ever had a warranty to begin with?

On a predetermined schedule as outlined by the manufacturer. 5%
As needed by serious breakdowns that prevent it from running. 90%
As I can afford an oil change if I do it myself. 5%

I think that was an old Old's or Pontiac, rust kills. But, it's just speculation except for the poll results.

November 9, 2011 - 2:29pm

#28

George Richardson

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Joined: Dec 10 2008

No Gregory, you are totally on subject. If you want to see sidetracked in motion follow my comments for a couple of months. The bad part is I keep promising myself I won't comment anymore and then I do and do and do and do and do. There are almost enough do do do do do's for a Frank Sinatra rendition of "Strangers in the Night."

November 9, 2011 - 6:07pm

#29

Bob Price

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Joined: Nov 15 2008

That looks like a mid-90's Buick Century. Tree is ALWAYS going to win vs. a vehicle,except maybe a small sapling.

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Elba woman killed when car strikes tree on North Byron Road

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