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Second driver in fatal accident remains in intensive care

By Howard B. Owens

The  second driver involved in yesterday's fatal head-on collision on West Main Street Road, Batavia, remains in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Angelo A. Merica III, 27, of Pavilion, was westbound on Route 5 when his car was struck by an eastbound car driven by Jonathan M. Colby, 37, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia. Colby was pronounced dead at the scene.

At Strong, a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) is listed as as "guarded."

While investigators have determined that Colby's car made a slow, steady drift into the oncoming lane, what hasn't been determined is why Colby's car drifted.

Colby had recently been working overnight shifts at Lowe's and may have been fatigued at the time of the crash.

Colby, a Muckdogs fan and involved in community theater, was married and the father of a 7-year-old girl.

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