A popular Batavia Downs driver is expected to return to action in about a week after getting thrown from his seat in the clubhouse turn during a race last night and suffering a concussion.

Veteran Jack Flanigen, who missed the entire 2008 season because of an injury, came into the season with 188 career wins.

Driving Anabelle Jo, the 44-year-old reinsman said he wasn't really sure what happened.

“I sent her out of there and she just collapsed and we went down.”

Flanigen was transported to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia where he received stitches for a facial cut.

Full press release after the jump:

Batavia, NY --- Jack Flanigen, currently the dash leading driver at Batavia Downs this season, suffered a concussion on Wednesday (Sept. 29) when the horse he was sitting behind, Annabelle Jo, went down heading into the clubhouse turn, throwing Flanigen to the ground.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” the 44-year-old reinsman said. “I sent her out of there and she just collapsed and we went down.”

Flanigen was transported to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia where he received stitches for a facial cut.

Flanigen missed the entire 2008 Batavia racing season when he suffered a concussion on the second to last night of racing at Buffalo Raceway.

Early reports have Flanigen being sidelined for at least a week.

“We wish Jack well,” Mike Kane, vice president of live racing commented. “Not only is he a top driver but he’s also a great guy.”

Joseph Cicatello’s Nora Lee was an up in time winner in the featured $9,000 Mares Open on Wednesday night.

Getting away fourth in the weekly feature for distaffers, Nora Lee, with Jamie Dunlap in the bike, followed second over cover, tipped three deep at the top of the lane and went on to her third win of the Downs' summer-fall meet (and eighth of the season) in 1:56.1.

Mike Delano trains the 4-year-old daughter of Modern Art whose 2010 earning are just shy of $44,000.

Racing resumes on Friday night (Oct. 1). The first of 12 gets under way at 6:40.

A woman was taken to Erie County Medical Center last night after a rear tire came off her Ford Explorer causing the vehicle to flip while she was heading westbound on the Thruway.

The SUV's front wheel then got caught in the rumble strip on the shoulder, shearing it off and causing the car to rollover again.

The 54-year-old woman's Explorer came to rest on its wheels and Batavia Fire needed to extricate her before she was transported by Mercy Flight to ECMC.

The woman was identified by Trooper Dan Golinski as Kathy Weich, of Sprakers.

The accident occurred at 9:41 p.m. at mile marker 389.3, which is between the Thruway entrance and the Bank Street Road bridge.

Weich is listed in stable condition at ECMC.

I just noticed that after years of the Latina's signs staying up on the vacant Ellicott Street market, the signs are now gone.

While in some cases, the city could cite a property owner for old business signs, City Manager Jason Molino said he doesn't think the signs came down because of any city action. So perhaps Latina's, after a summer of bad publicity over seagulls on the building, finally asked that the signs be taken down.

Meanwhile, owner Tom Lewin appeared in City Court last week. Given that the building is now cleaned up, the charges against Lewin could be dismissed in six months if there are no more violations. (via WIVB)

A Pearl Street resident was jailed without bail last night after allegedly biting a Batavia Police officer on his arm.

The officer, Sgt. John Peck, was treated and released at UMMC.

Charged with assault, 2nd, and resisting arrest was Donald F. Stillwagon II, 25, of 142 Pearl St., Batavia. (Charges modified to: felony assault 2nd, obstructinog governmental administration and harassment 2nd.)

The incident began at 10:13 p.m. with a report of a family domestic problem at that address. Stillwagon was reportedly involved in a fight with another family member and at one time was allegedly choking the other family member. He was then restrained by a family member when police arrived.

Peck attempted to arrest Stillwagon, which is when the suspect allegedly bit Peck, causing a pretty deep cut, according to Detective Pat Corona.

Police have recently responded to other calls at this residence, Corona said.

The incident remains under investigation and additional charges may be pending.

Sheriff's deputies and state troopers assisted in the incident.

A Batavia Police officer was reportedly bit on the arm after responding to a reported fight at 142 Pearl St.

The incident originated as a 9-1-1 call from a female who said two people were fighting (we think, two men). One of the subjects was reportedly on top of the other at one point choking him.

A short time after police arrived, an officer requested an ambulance for a reported injury to a police officer.

Mercy EMS is in route.

A car has reportedly rolled over multiple times on the Thruway east of Route 98 and west of the Bank Street Road Bridge.

A woman is reportedly injured, but no report on how seriously.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 9:44 p.m.: The accident is in the westbound lane at mile marker 389.3.

UPDATE 9:46 p.m.: Extrication is required. Mercy Flight is being dispatched.

UPDATE 9:56 p.m: Mercy Flight leaving Genesee County Airport. ETA one minute.

UPDATE 9:59 p.m.: Mercy Flight on the ground.

UPDATE: 10:10 p.m.: Patient in route to Strong via Mercy Flight.

A two-car accident with injuries, blocking traffic, has been reported at Route 98 and Batavia-Elba Townline Road.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire are responding.

The injuries do not sound serious at this time.

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UPDATED at 5:04 p.m.

Ronald J. Wendt II, 25, of Alexander, is guilty of DWI and aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of 18-year-old Katie Stanley on Aug. 14, 2009, a Genesee County jury concluded today.

The jury also convicted Wendt of the nine other counts against him, including vehicular manslaughter, 2nd, which carries a possible 25-year prison term.

The jury deliberated less than two hours after hearing more than four days of testimony in which defense attorney Thomas Burns tried to establish that Wendt wasn't legally intoxicated at the time of the accident and that the actions of the driver of the other car, Rachel Enderle, 27, of Dansville, contributed to the accident.

"I don't want to get into anything about the case other than to say I'm disappointed in the verdict," Burns said. "That's about all I have to say."

While the speed of the verdict surprised Burns, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said the quick decision shows the people had a solid case on all charges against Wendt.

"I'm very pleased for Katie's family and the other victims of the crash," Friedman said. "Justice was served."

In the hours before the accident, Wendt worked with a friend baling hay in Attica. Toward the end of the workday, they began drinking beer. According to William D. Marchisin, 35, of Darien, Wendt and he each had as many as six beers prior to the accident, including one about 15 minutes beforehand.

The duo was going to stop off at My Saloon for "just one more" when Wendt decided to make a left-hand turn off Route 20 right in front of Enderle's oncoming car.

Stanley, also of Dansville, was riding in the right rear passenger seat.

Friedman acknowledged that people drink and drive in Genesee County every day and they rarely wind up involved in a fatal car accident.

"Obviously, the vast majority believe nothing like this happens, but that's the reason we have these laws," Friedman said. "I'm sure this defendant never expected anything like this could ever happen to him, but that's what the problem is, you never know. Anybody who is driving while intoxicated could find themselves in this situation."

Sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Nov. 15. Friedman said he hasn't even started to think about a sentencing recommendation.

Burns said there will be an appeal, but as is his policy, he won't represent Wendt in the appeal.

Photo: File photo of Ron Wendt.

Whether Rachel Enderle was speeding, or not, or how attentive she was to her driving, doesn't really matter, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman told the jury in closing arguments of the Ronald J. Wendt manslaughter trial.

Wendt's conduct the night of Aug. 14, 2009 was a crucial link in a chain of events that led to a tragic accident. The jury need only find that without Wendt's conduct, the accident would never have occurred.

"If this defendant had not been drinking throughout the day, throughout the evening and throughout the night, Katie Stanley would still be alive," Friedman said. "If he hadn’t felt the need for one more beer and turned in front of that car, Katie Stanley would still be alive."

Defense attorney Thomas Burns argued forcefully in his closing remarks that the evidence does not support the charge that Wendt was driving drunk, nor that he should have reasonably concluded that by making that fateful left turn, an accident would have occurred.

The Sheriff's Office never investigated other factors in the crash, Burns argued, but immediately concluded that Wendt was at fault.

"So the singular focus is what I submit to you is what this trial is ultimately about," Burns said. "How else do we explain, for example, when we know that Mr. Fox said he was speeding, that he was not issued a traffic citation?

"When evidence suggests that Mr. Fox was directly behind Ms. Enderle and that she would have been speeding, there is no suggestion that she was issued a traffic citation in this case. How else do we explain resistance from police witnesses to common law evidence and how the Datamaster can be interpreted as to non-intoxication rather than simply intoxication?"

Wendt's BAC at the time of the accident may every well have been below .08, Burns argued, pointing out the rate of absorption possible would mean his last beer would have been hitting his system just about the time the test was administered.

Friedman, in his more than hour-long remarks, pointed out that absorption into Wendt's blood would have started when he took his first sip of that last beer, not when he finished it. Also, some of the alcohol in his system from his day of drinking would have been leaving his system at the same time.

Wendt's BAC at the time of the accident, Friedman said, could actually have been above .08.

Burns, also taking more than an hour to make his case, argued that the Datamaster is not reliable and like any machine, prone to error, but Friedman said breath tests go back to the 1950s and are standard tools for measuring BAC in criminal cases.

There's no evidence, Friedman said, that the Datamaster is any less reliable than a direct blood test. The results of the Datamaster are a person's actual BAC, not an estimate, as Burns had said, according to Friedman.

Burns also called into question the results of the field sobriety test given to Wendt by Deputy Tim Wescott at the scene. Burns was critical of the lack of consideration for any possible injuries Wendt might have suffered in the violent collision, that his fatigue was a factor and his heavy boots were a factor.

Also, Burns said, since the field test wasn't video recorded, the only record of Wendt's performance on the test was Wescott's memory.

Friedman countered that Wescott was an experienced law officer, that since his report also contained information on the parts of the test Wendt passed, and that by Wendt's own conduct and remarks prior to the test, Wescott's testimony was credible.

Friedman argued that the facts of the case clearly demonstrate that Wendt was intoxicated at the time of the crash and that even though he could clearly see a car right in front of him, he turned in front of it without stopping first and without using his turn signal. 

"I would suggest to you that the defense has tried very hard to complicate a very straightforward case," Friedman said.

The jury is beginning deliberations this afternoon.

If convicted of all charges, the 25-year-old Wendt could face up to 25 years in prison.

A dryer fire is reported at 9908 in Creek Road in the Town of Bethany. It is out, but the home is filled with smoke. A tanker and one fire engine were requested. The residents are out of the building.

Christopher Paul Rutherford, 26 of Cowen Road, Piffard, is charged with petit larceny. Rutherford is accused of giving a free oil change and tire rotation and balance to a friend. The alleged incident occurred at 2:04 p.m., Aug. 20.

Thomas Michael Ford, 21, of Brockport-Spencerport Road, Brockport, is charged with petit larceny. Ford allegedly stole engine oil and a tire rotation and balance from Walmart. Ford is accused of receiving the service on April 1.

Edward M. Davis, Jr., 45, of 23 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Davis is accused of sending text messages to a person he was ordered not to contact. Davis was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Ashley Evette Mercado, 20, Watson St., Batavia, was picked up on a bench warrant from a previous trespass charge. Mercado was allegedly involved in an unrelated incident, leading to police contact and discovery of the warrant. Mercado was jailed on $250 bail.

After a quick City Council meeting, I decided to experiment with a little night photography. The picture above of Mary and baby Jesus is the one I was most satisfied with.

Being a relatively new observance, National Preparedness Month is not necessarily widely known. It is what Homeland Security designated the month of September in 2002, in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

This initiative, which has the support of the Red Cross and other such organizations, is geared toward helping individuals, families, schools and workplaces develop efficient emergency response plans. This way, they will be ready in the event of a disaster -- natural or manmade.

Jim Maxwell, chief of the Batavia Fire Dept., recently commented on the fact that National Preparedness Month gets too little attention at the local level.

"It upsets me that not enough people get involved locally," he said. "I'd like to try and prepare for more (involvement) next year."

Maxwell's disappointment stems from his belief that every emergency is local in nature.

"It just depends on how you define local," he said. "'Local' starts in the household. For me (as fire chief), local means the City of Batavia. For someone like Jay Gsell (the Genesee County manager), the word 'local' has an even broader meaning. It (an emergency) starts and ends locally."

Of course, reparedness is not limited to September -- it ought to be a year-round priority.

"Part of my position is to make people aware," Maxwell said. "National Preparedness measures make things easier in the long run, because people are trained to handle smaller emergencies while we (firemen, emergency response teams, law enforcement, etc.) handle the bigger emergencies."

The chief pointed to National-Preparedness-Month-related websites that list things people can do to be ready for an emergency or disaster, as well as prepare for greater involvement in promoting the awareness campaign next year.

He mentioned websites like www.ready.gov, which educates people regarding steps they can take in order to successfully weather emergencies and provides information on what materials/provisions/supplies (and how many) they will need.

If you Google terms such as "National Preparedness Month" and "survival mom" (for parents), you will find a lot of useful information, including:

• how to coordinate an exit drill in your home
• establishing a meeting place for your family outside the home
• designating what Maxwell calls a "focal person" -- someone who is outside of the home, the area, or even the state -- who the family can contact if they get separated.

Another website Maxwell mentioned was www.72hourplan.com.

Anyone who is interested in contributing to National Preparedness Month next year or would simply like more information can contact Maxwell at jmaxwell@batavianewyork.com, or call 345-6400, ext. 4379.

Tonight's Batavia City Council meeting was a conference meeting. The following items were discussed (no votes were taken):

Cedar Street reconstruction

In September 2009, the City Council authorized the Cedar Street reconstruction project. It is being paid for by federal highway money and will cost $2.8 million.

A total of 15 engineering firms were considered for a contract to provide engineering services for the project. A committee is recommending that Buffalo-based Erdman Anthony get the contract for $220,000 in engineering services.

Redevelopment

The Batavia Planning and Development Committee approved a residential redevelopment plan previously recommended by the City Council. At its next business meeting, the council will be asked to pass a resolution authorizing the plan.

It calls for foreclosed properties to be transferred to the Batavia Housing Authority so that the property can be deeded, under specific conditions, to qualified low-income families.

City budget

In keeping with Batavia's budget audit consultant, the City Council will need to adopt a resolution at its next business meeting to set up several reserve funds. These include: employee benefit accrued liability; self-insurance health benefit plan; workers' compensation; retirement contribution; and reserves for Dwyer Stadium repair.

The city has $3.5 million in compensated absence liability, with $1.3 million potentially due immediately, if the high number of employees eligible to retire actually did so. The resolution would authorize a transfer of $150,000 to the benefit accrued liability fund.

Another resolution would authorize the transfer of $100,000 to the self-insurance fund.

With $284,000 in potential workers' comp liability, another resolution would transfer $200,000 from the general reserve fund to the workers' comp liability fund.

Another resolution would transfer $150,000 for public works equipment and $50,000 for fire department equipment for future purchases.

The council is also being asked to transfer $200,000 to the retirement reserve fund.

Finally, the council is being asked to transfer $60,000 to the Dwyer Stadium repair reserve fund.

Ron Wendt's truck was likely traveling at 11 mph when it was struck by a Toyota Camry on Aug. 14, 2009 as Wendt attempted to make a left-hand turn into the parking lot of My Saloon on Broadway in Darien.

The Camry, driven by Rachel Enderle, 27, of Dansville, was likely going at 46 mph at the point of impact.

This is the testimony of accident scene investigator Deputy Ron Meides.

Meides said he had no ability to calculate the speed of the Camry in the second prior to impact.

Defense Attorney Thomas Burns asked a number of questions about the relative speed of the Camry and how much distance it would have traveled at those speeds.

Previously, Enderle and another witness have put the possible speeds in a range from 50 to 60 mph.

Witness Amanda McClellan estimated in earlier testimony that Wendt's truck was traveling at 30 to 40 mph as he attempted to make the turn.

Meides said his calculations were based on the distance the vehicles moved from the point of impact to where they came to rest. Because Wendt's truck hit a parked truck, therefore stopping motion, Meides had to begin his calculations on the distance that the stationary truck moved.

The starting point of the calculations was a gouge in the roadway. He estimated that the Camry traveled 10 feet from the point of impact and the Wendt's Dodge Ram moved 15 feet.

The weights of the vehicles with their respective passengers are also a factor in the calculation, as is the condition of the roadway. 

The type of roadway -- in this case "polished asphalt" (because of heavy use and age) -- adds "drag" to the motion of the vehicles (as does the condition of the tires, but not as much as the road surface).

Because the Sheriff's Office doesn't have the necessary device, Meides did not test for roadway drag to get a precise measurement. He testified that the number he used (called a co-efficient) was .5, which he said is standard under those conditions.

Other testimony today:

Sgt. Steve Mullen of the Sheriff's Office was called back to the stand to narrate a nighttime video he and other investigators made of driving past My Saloon. The video included two vehicles -- a truck stopped with its turn signal on in front of My Saloon and a sedan driving through Darien Center at 45 mph.

The only defense witness called today was Benjamin Bonarigo, an intern at his father's law firm, Bonarigo & McCutcheon. Bonarigo took additional pictures of the accident scene area on behalf of the defense.

Both attorneys rested their cases today and the jury was dismissed for the evening. Closing arguments begin around 9 a.m., Tuesday.

Once the jury was out of the courtroom, Burns resumed his motions for dismissal of all 11 counts against Wendt, saying that the People have failed to make its case that Wendt was driving under the influence and that he drove in a reckless manner.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman was critical of Burns' motion, saying that Burns offered no proof that the People had failed to make its case. In fact, Friedman argued, there was sufficient evidence of DWI and that Wendt's actions were reckless.

"Obviously it’s our position, and I think that viewing the evidence in the most favorable light to the people, we have established reckless driving," Friedman said. "The defendant turned (left) right in front of a car that is so close. It’s not just his intoxication. It’s not just his traffic violation. It’s that he made the turn with the other vehicle in such close proximity."

The issue of recklessness -- and how to instruct the jury on the charges involving recklessness -- were also a big point of contention between Burns and Friedman when discussing how Noonan will instruct the jury on the charges.

Burns wants a charge that would require the jury to find that Wendt's behavior was clearly reckless, that he acted in a way that showed careless disregard for other people on a public highway. Friedman said under the law, the People don't even need to prove criminal negligence to get a reckless driving conviction -- just that the defendant took an action and it led to the death of another person.

Noonan will issue his rulings on how to instruct the jury on the charges in the morning, but he set no specific time on when he might rule on Burns' dismissal motions.

The prosecution in the Ronald J. Wendt manslaughter trial will not be allowed to submit evidence from a computer program that calculates and reaches conclusions on what happened in the Aug. 14, 2009 accident that killed a Dansville girl.

However, maps generated by the program that depict the accident scene without interpretation can be used, Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled in Genesee County Court today.

The combination of measuring devices and computer programs are known as Nikon Total Station, Vista FX (6th Edition) and Crashnet.

Noonan concluded that there are no precedents for using these programs for the purpose of accident-scene reconstruction and one of the tests of admissibility would be establishing general acceptance for that purpose by the scientific community. That has not been established, Noonan ruled.

In another matter, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman objected to photos brought into court today by defense attorney Thomas Burns, saying he hadn't been properly notified and questioning their evidentiary value.

Noonan ruled that Friedman could challenge the value of the photos as evidence at the time Burns attempts to enter them as evidence.

The photos were taken recently of the accident scene area. Burns said some of the photos show views that have not been offered into evidence by the prosecution.

As I've read our coverage of the Ron Wendt manslaughter trial, I've thought a couple of times it would be useful to see the scene of the accident, what the roadway is like, where buildings are located. 

To help with some perspective are four pictures from the scene. Note, to avoid any visual warping of perspective, I did not use telephoto settings on my lens. I did use a wide-angle setting from the porch of My Saloon.

Top picture is looking east on Route 20/Broadway from the low point of the road, less than 100 yards from the driveway of My Saloon (just past the Route 354 turn sign on the right).

For a bigger version of this picture, click here.

The trial resumes this afternoon.

More pictures after the jump:

Still looking east, but further up the road, where the speed limit changes to 40 mph.  Bigger picture.

The view looking west, the direction Ron Wendt was traveling. Bigger version.

The view from the front porch of My Saloon -- the vantage point of Amanda McClellan, who said she observed Wendt's truck going from 30 mph to 40 mph, and didn't apparently slow before trying to make the turn into the driveway.  The driveway is about four feet to the left of this picture. While McClellan couldn't have seen far up the road, to stand on the porch and watch cars go by gives a different perspective on just how much she could have seen.