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One killed, one seriously injured in head-on collision on West Main Street Road, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: The Genesee County Sheriff's Department has released the victims' names in this morning's two-vehicle head-on collision in the vicinity of 3837 W. Main St. Road, Town of Batavia.

Killed at the scene was 19-year-old Delores Opuku-Boateng, who was a passenger in a 1999 Honda sedan driven by 21-year-old Levert R. Kimble. Both of them were ejected from the vehicle upon impact.

Kimble was taken to ECMC with serious injuries. Mercy Flight was not available for unknown reasons this morning.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 1995 Chevy SUV, was Justin J. Jaszko, 31. He suffered a leg injury and was taken to UMMC.

According to investigators, the accident occurred at 9:02 a.m. when Kimble apparently lost control of his eastbound Honda and crossed over the center of the road, striking Jaszko's westbound SUV.

Assisting at the scene were the volunteer fire departments of the Town of Batavia and East Pembroke and the Batavia City Police Department.

The investigation continues by the following individuals: Deputy John Duyssen, Deputy Lonnie Nati, Investigator Kristopher Kautz, Investigator Timothy Weis, Sgt. William Scott, Sgt. James Meier and Sgt. Steven Mullen.

At this point, no charges have been made.

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble said it's too early in the investigation to say what factor weather or speed played in the accident.

"We just don't know about speed," Dibble said. "We have two or three eyewitnesses and they will help us. Obviously, the road conditions are what they are. We have winter road conditions."

(Initial Report)

Wendy Smith

I've always thought it a shame that photos of MVA's are shown in the media before family members are notified, especially when a license plate is clearly visible. If names are not released until family is notified, then their vehicles should not be released as well. I was not reachable by phone today and when I viewed this accident on the Batavian around noon, the car looked like my daughter's and her license plate starts with fff- although I was not certain of her last numbers. My heart began racing and I quickly got to a phone to call her and see if she was all right. I can't tell you the panic that overcame me as I viewed that picture. I was relieved when my daughter answered her phone- however, the young girl sitting next to me was not as fortunate. She viewed the picture and recognized the car and license plate number of that belonging to her friend. She was a wreck- and no one was there with her to console her. I felt terrible for her as she tried to gather her belongings in this public place and asked me about the hospital. Viewing a picture of a fatal accident (or any accident for that matter) on the internet is not a way to find out about a friend or loved one's fate.

Feb 8, 2011, 10:13pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

I'm sorry to read this.

It had occurred to me to obscure the license plate, but when I saw the Daily News hadn't, I backed off.

Part of my thought was, I can't tell you what the license plate is on my wife's car. I don't even know the LP on my own truck. I certainly don't know what the LP is on any friends or family's car.

Altering a photo is not something photojournalists do.

I also looked at whether the photo could be cropped differently, but then it becomes a different photo.

These are tough situations. It's our job to get the news out. For every person who might see a photo like this and recognize a friend's car, there are several others wondering if it is their friend or family member involved and are looking to news outlets to provide as much detail as possible as quickly as possible.

I always try to be as sensitive as possible to the situation and still do what readers expect, which is provide the information available as quickly as possible.

Feb 8, 2011, 11:14pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

I should add, too, what about the anxiety created by the lack of information for a lot of other people? What if you knew your loved one was driving down West Main on his or her way to work that time of day, wouldn't the lack of information be nerve wracking?

Putting out information about sensitive subjects is always a hard call. It's hard on the journalists involved and it's hard on the officials who allow the journalists access to the scene.

If I had obscured the license plate -- as a matter of journalistic ethics, a 50/50 call, at best -- would that really have helped you or your friend? Presumably, you still would have recognized the car as something similar to what a loved one drives. Would it really have been better to obscure the LP?

And what if we published no information at all and just waited until an official release -- how would that have benefited all the other people who are wondering and worrying?

Wendy, your comment is certainly a good reminder to think these things through, but I don't think it's always a clear-cut issue of what to do in situations like this. I don't want to come across as insensitive to your or anybody else's concerns - I always try to be sensitive to such things - but the issues involved cut across a broad spectrum of possible involvements and concerns that I'm not sure it's my place to predict. I'm sorry for you and your co-worker, but I would also be sorry for those left to wonder and worry without information.

Feb 8, 2011, 11:35pm Permalink
Wendy Smith

I do understand and appreciate your position as a journalist, Howard. I know that not everyone knows their own license plate number, let alone a friend or family member. It just so happened that fff is pretty easy to remember (although I don't know the rest of it). Along with the car being the same color, size, and orange license plate it was a very horrifying sight for me to see. Put yourself in the same position. I see your point about the people that are left wondering- however, my personal opinion is that I would rather wonder and receive a phone call, than to go on the internet and find out by recognizing a vehicle. Also, most people are going about their daily business and are not even aware that an accident has taken place, so they aren't wondering anything. I'm not critizing your journalistic abilities, I'm just voicing my opinion regarding my experience today. Although I was relieved, my heart went out to a young girl as I watched her learn of her friend's death by viewing her vehicle on a computer screen. If it were not for the fact that I had to witness this girl's horror and grief as she learned this information while alone in a public setting, I would not have even commented.

Feb 9, 2011, 12:08am Permalink

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