A fire is reported at Darien Lake Theme Park inside the human resources center. Smoke is visible.

Darien fire is dispatched.

Defense Attorney Thomas Burns called Dr. Fran Gengo to testify this morning in the DWI case of Ronald Wendt. The expert witness answered basic questions from both Burns and Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell about his background, education and medical experience.

Gengo is a clinical pharmacologist at the DENT Neurological Institute and currently serves as an associate professor of Pharmacy and Neurology and a clinical assistant professor of Neurosurgery at the SUNYAB School of Medicine. He now practices neuropharmacology research and pharmacotherapy.

During his initial testimony, Burns asked Gengo to relay to his expertise concerning alcohol in the body, as well as his knowledge of the breathylizer he was experienced in using.

Gengo testified to analyzing breathylizer results and making use of the data for many years. He also informed the court that he took what he believed to be was the same training that police officers take to become certified in giving a breathlyizer test.

Since Gengo is not a government or law enforcement official, he could not take the exact training that police officers do. However, he did say that the training was administered by a former police officer and the curriculum and manuals were the same.

A debate between the prosecution and the defense arose when Burns questioned Gengo about his knowledge of a variance in the results of the DataMaster test, which gauges blood-alcohol level or BAC.

Gengo said he had no designated training specifically in the DataMaster, but based on his reasearch and scientific knowledge, he maintained that scientists generally accept a variance in the DataMaster, and that the mechanism is not 100-percent accurate.

Finnell argued that this testimony should not be used because Gengo has not had any training in that specific device. But Judge Robert Noonan allowed the testimony, saying  the witness was more than capable of having that knowledge based on his scientific background and general understanding of science.

NOTE: Juror #1 was excused due to illness and it was determined that he/she would not be available within the next few days. Substitute Juror #1 replaced Juror #1.

Tim Wescott has spent 10 of his 12 years with the Genesee County Sheriff's Department on road patrol. It is a job he has trained extensively for and kept up to date on.

Under questioning from District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Wescott told jurors in the Ronald J. Wendt II trial Wednesday afternoon, that he has taken courses at three different community colleges on how to conduct driver field sobriety tests and use the equipment to do so.

And yet despite the possibility that Wendt, too, may have been injured in the accident, though not obviously so -- perhaps he hit his head or tweaked his neck or back -- the deputy did not ask Wendt how he was or if he was injured.

Under cross-examination from defense Attorney Thomas Burns, Wescott testified that he wasted no time in performing field sobriety tests, which Wendt performed poorly.

Burns asked Wescott if his education included any medical training with regard to head trauma and concussions. He asked if he had learned about the possible effects of back or head injuries on tests for balance, coordination and mental functioning. No, Wescott said.

Burns asked if he was taught to ask about possible injuries before conducting sobriety tests.

"I don't know if I'm required to ask him," Wescott said. "I didn't."

Wescott testified that he was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the accident scene on Aug. 14, 2009, in front of My Saloon on Broadway Road in Darien. That was at 11:13 p.m. -- four minutes after the first 9-1-1 call was received by dispatch (11:08 p.m.) and relayed to the officer at 11:09 p.m.

He estimated he conducted the intox tests on Wendt about 10 minutes after arrival and arrested him for DWI at 11:37.

The first thing Wescott noticed when he arrived at the crash was three damaged vehicles, Wendt's maroon pickup, Rachel Enderle's Toyota Camry, and a black truck that was parked in the lot. The Camry and Wendt's truck had both spun around as a result the impact of the crash.

Mercy EMS had one subject in an ambulance, a man in the roadway being worked on by medics, and he saw two women involved in the accident walking around. It was choatic, with bar patrons and others milling around, too.

Wescott said he spoke briefly with Rachel, the driver of the Toyota who struck Wendt's truck when he pulled in front of her as he made a left-hand turn into the My Saloon parking lot. He said there was no indication she had been drinking.

He was trying to get information about Wendt's truck, which was missing a front license plate, when Wendt approached him and said "I'm the one you're looking for."

Wendt told the officer he had come from a residence in Attica, was stopping for one (beer) and "thought he had time to turn."

"He had bloodshot, glassy eyes, some slurred speach and the odor of alcohol on his breath," the deputy said, who then asked if he'd been drinking.

Wendt said he had a few beers and then added "You might as well have me blow and take me to jail." The deputy said he'd rather have him do field sobriety tests.

The officer then detailed the standard tests given and what are called "clues" as to the person's inebriation. No single test can conclusively determine if a person is intoxicated, he noted. But Wendt did not pass any test "cluelessly."

Wendt told the officer he'd had four or five beers throughout the day while baling hay with a friend and had drank his last one about 15 minutes before the accident, which killed Rachel's back-seat passenger, 18-year-old Katie Stanley, of Dansville.

"He said he was slowing down, with his turn-signal on, and thought he had time to make the turn but said he guessed he didn't," Wescott said.

At the scene, it was determined that Wendt had no registration for his pickup, no current inspection sticker, his plate had been "voluntarily surrendered," and his only ID was an expired motorcycle driver's license.

After he was arrested and taken to jail, his picture was taken and it was shown to the jury yesterday. He looked slightly sunburned, unshaven, with reddish, tired-looking eyes. After being read his Miranda warnings and being interviewed by Wescott, he signed a voluntary statement about the accident at 1:13 a.m. Wescott said his demeanor, sobriety, or lack thereof, had not changed from his first encounter with him.

In other testimony Wednesday, Sheriff's Investigator Steve Mullen explained to jurors how a video recreating the moments leading up to the accident was made. They were not shown the video, however. One was made in daylight, another at night, earlier this year.

A key point was determining how far one can see cars coming down Route 20 eastbound from the roadway in front of My Saloon. Wendt had been heading westbound. It was estimated that one could see "several hundred yards" up the road, which then dips down at midway at the cemetery before rising, making cars visible again.

The speed limit goes from 55 to 40 east of the cemetery. In making the video, the eastbound driver was instructed to go 55 then take his foot off the gas pedal and start to brake at the 40 mph sign. The driver reached a speed of 45 mph by the time he got to My Saloon. How fast Rachel was driving is one of the points of contention in the case.

The other person who took the stand Wednesday was Rachel's cousin, Tim Enderle. Heavyset, 22, and a resident of North Chili, he testified that he, Rachel, Katie and Gabby Mahus had left a concert at Darien Lake early to avoid rowdy crowds. He was the front-seat passenger. They were on Route 20 heading to Rachel's house in Dansville.

"I noticed headlights up ahead, I try to notice everything, I think that's my responsibility as a passenger," Tim said. "I noticed the headlights shook a little bit -- as though somebody was deciding whether to turn."

He said he thought the truck was going "at a pretty high rate of speed and it sort of veered into the parking lot. He said Rachel was staying in her lane, looking ahead and was in no way distracted.

"I barely had time to put my arm up on the dashboard, I guess it was less than a car length in front of us," Tim said. "I took a deep breath. The crash was instantaneous. I could barely breathe. I smelled smoke, it was horrible."

Tim's window was rolled up and his door was jammed shut afterward. He said he looked at the others in the car and noticed Rachel and Gabby were OK, but Katie was not and blood was coming out of her nose area. When they were able to get him out of the vehicle, he tried to stand but felt an excruciating pain in his leg and fell to the ground.

He saw Katie on a guerney being taken to the ambulance.

"I noticed her arm was dangling down," he said. "I reached up and put it on her stomach."

He was taken to UMMC, then to Strong where underwent surgery on his leg and hip and spent weeks and weeks in rehab. He suffered a dislocated hip, two fractured vertabrae and his "femural head was driven up into his leg." Afterward, he spent months at home in a wheelchair, then a walker. He still has terrible pain, including while he was testifying, he said.

A motor-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported at 7906 Byron Road, near the Stafford Country Club.

Stafford fire department and Mercy EMS are responding.

I will be leaving shortly for Buffalo to catch a plane to Chicago. I'm attending a conference called "Block by Block: Community News Summit 2010."

The one-day event is perhaps the first time all of the publishers of the top local online-only news sites in the U.S. have gathered in one location. In all, about 40 independent publishers will be attending, plus some editors from larger companies.

I'll be leading one session on advertising sales.

In the meantime, Tim Walton is helping with Ron Wendt trial coverage and Ethan Thompson will cover Attica at Pembroke football for us on Friday night. Of course, Billie will be around to monitor the scanner and handle anything breaking that comes up, and WBTA is available to pitch in as needed, as well -- so there should still be news coverage while I'm gone.

Not to mention, of course, I'll have my laptop with me and stay on top of things as much as possible.

Contractors began milling Ellicott Street this morning in preparation for repaving next week.

Over the next three days, the milling tractors -- which cost $750,000 each -- will remove 750,000 tons of top asphalt.

The milling begins down the center of Ellicott today, with traffic being diverted to the outside lanes from Main to Cedar. Once the center of the roadway is milled, traffic will be routed to the center and workers will mill to the curbs.

A test strip of paving will be laid on Wednesday, with actual paving scheduled to begin on Friday.

Two bus loads of area residents departed from the Batavia Downs parking lot this morning for "Patriot Trip III," the annual trek to Washington, D.C., organized by Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

The trip includes tours of the WWII, Vietnam, Korean and FDR Memorials as well as the Nation’s Capitol, Arlington Cemetery, and Udvar Hazy Aerospace
Museum. Each traveler paid $325 to join the group and they will stay at Fort Belvior Army Base in Virginia.

For many of the people joining the tour this year, it is their third time making the trip to D.C., and some first-timers said they were excited to be going in this year.

David Timothy Neuhaus, 23, of North Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Neuhaus is accused of stealing property from another person in Bergen. The time of the alleged incident was 5:20 a.m., Tuesday.

Randy Lawrence Sanfratello, 40, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Sanfratello allegedly remained on the property of another person whom he was ordered not to be near.

William J. Christner, 55, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Christner was stopped by State Police at 9:07 p.m., Tuesday, on Route 5 in the Town of Batavia.

A fire is reported at an apartment building at 42 Spencer Court in the City of Batavia. The possible structure fire is reported to be in an end building and there is some traffic congestion due to people trying to leave the scene or move their cars.

Firefighters on scene report smoke showing.

UPDATE (9:58 p.m.): The smoke is said to be coming from a BBQ grill and fire units are back in service.

A three-car accident with injuries has been reported at Daws Corners.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: Northbound traffic at Saile Drive is being closed.

UPDATE 6:32 p.m.: The Elba fire chief has told fire police to reopen the road.

A two-car accident, that is not blocking, has been reported in the area of 6177 Main Road, Stafford.

Stafford Fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

View Larger Map

An accident with a head injury has been reported on Route 490, just past the Bergen exit.

The accident is actually in Monroe County, but still part of the Bergen Fire District.

Bergin Fire and Le Roy Ambulance have been dispatched.

UPDATE: This apparently was not an accident. There was a parent taking a child to the hospital after the child was hurt in a playground accident. Bergen back in service.

Batavia Police are on scene of an accident at Park and Richmond. No word on injuries.

A second accident at Park and Oak has just been called in. It's reportedly a rear-end accident. No word on injuries.

A one-car accident with injuries has been reported in the area of 3126 Stegman Road, Batavia.

A third advanced life-support ambulance is requested.

East Pembroke Fire is on scene.

View Larger Map

In the three or four hours before the accident in Darien that took the life of a Dansville girl, Ronald J. Wendt may have drank as many as six beers, a longtime friend of his testified today.

Thirty-five-year-old William D. Marchisin, who says he's known Wendt for a number of years, was called by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman to testify about what he and Wendt did in the hours leading up to the Aug. 14, 2009 accident.

The day started at 11 a.m. at Marchisin's house and included a pizza lunch at about 1 p.m. The two men then went to a neighbor's barn to remove a grain bin and then spent the next several hours baling hay.

According to Marchisin, Wendt brought along a cooler that contained six Arizona Ice Teas and six beers. The two men drank three beers apiece before leaving the field, then at two more at the VFW Hall in Alexander, and then one more in Attica while waiting for their wings to be cooked at a pizza shop  there.

Under cross examination by Wendt's defense attorney, Thomas Burns, it came out that Marchisin has given different versions of the events that day.

In one interview with investigators, he even lied under oath -- he admitted this in court today -- about even being at the accident scene. 

In his first interview with investigator William Ferrando, Marchisin said that Wendt dropped him off at home before Wendt drove to My Saloon (the accident occurred in front of the bar on Broadway Road in Darien). A few minutes later, Marchisin gave a new sworn statement saying that he was in the truck when it was struck by a car driven by Rachel Enderle.

Marchisin said he was scared during the Aug. 18 meeting with Ferrando, which is why he lied.

As for when he and Wendt had their first beer, Marchisin has given different time lines. In Grand Jury testimony, he said 7 p.m. Today, he said under direct examination that it was 8 p.m., but later testified that it might have been 15 or 20 minutes after 7 p.m.

Marchisin also admitted that he left the scene of the accident as soon as ambulances arrived.

He described the post-accident scene as chaos, with people yelling and screaming, and bar patrons mobbing the scene, bringing out drinks, including beer bottles, and setting them on the car and truck.

"I stood there on the curb," Marchisin said. "I stood there and I don’t want to say 'awed,' but dazzled, and I considered the scene secured, I guess, and I told Ron, 'I can’t handle it anymore,' and I walked home."

Marchisin lives about a mile from where the accident occurred.

Wendt's friend did not testify about the accident itself and may be called back to the stand on another day to testify about what he saw and heard.

First on the stand today was Ferrando, who photographed the accident scene and authenticated the pictures as evidence.

Among the pictures, are two that show a LaBatt's Blue beer box in Wendt's pickup bed and what appeared to be a Blue beer can on the ground next to the truck.

Also on the stand for a brief time was Gabby Mahus, who was a passenger, sitting behind the driver, in the car that hit Wendt's truck.

She broke down when describing the accident scene and Katie Stanley being taken from the car, apparently not breathing. Judge Robert Noonan authorized a short recess so she compose herself, but Friedman had only two more questions for her when she came back.

We'll have coverage of the afternoon testimony later.

An Alabama man whose home was raided early Tuesday morning and had 12 guns seized is suspected of modifying weapons for sale, according to Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster.

"I think he was trying to expand his business a little bit," Brewster said. "He's been rather active in turning legal weapons into allegedly illegal weapons, which is why we sent the guns to the crime lab for further evaluation."

One clearly modified gun was found, according to a Sheriff's Office press release, along with a silencer and a large capacity magazine. The other weapons will be examined and additional charges may be filed.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) participated in the raid and it's possible that Christopher Jon Bombard, 31, of 7133 Maple St. Road, will also face federal charges, which carry substantially stiffer penalties than state felonies.

Bombard was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd.

Brewster said the weapons seized included .22 long rifles and assault-style rifles.

"We do not get the impression that he had been doing this for a very long period of time," Brewster said.

The $300 seized in the raid is believed to be the fruit of an alleged illegal gun sale, Brewster said.

The weapons were being sold locally, Brewster said, and it was that local activity that led to a tip being funneled to the Sheriff's Office through the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force. The task force conducted the investigation and raid, along with the ATF and other local agencies.

The Local Drug Enforcement Task Force handles much more than drug investigations, Brewster noted. It is also charged with vice and organized crime investigation, for example, so "this was right up their alley which is why I authorized them to handle the case."

A power line has been reported down on Cedar Street.

It has reportedly fallen on an occupied car.

City Fire is responding.

UPDATE 7:45 a.m.: National Grid requested to the scene.