A woman sustained serious injuries in Darien this evening when the car she was in left the roadway on Erie Street and struck a utility pole and a house before the operator attempted to drive away from the scene.
He could only get his 2005 Toyota TC another 500 feet down the road before it stalled.
The driver, Michael J. Antonucci, 39, of Darien, and the other two passengers were not seriously hurt. In fact, one of them, with blood dripping down his face, declined medical attention at the scene and walked home.
Both rear passengers were pinned in the vehicle and could not self-extricate. One of them was seriously injured and identified as Tanya L. Captain, 34, of Darien.
The other passengers were Shawn M. Kwiatek, 43, of Darien, and Steven N. Zink, 30, of Darien.
Captain was transported to Erie County Medical Center by Mercy Flight Central, which was filling in for Mercy Flight of WNY, presently standing down following a fatal accident earlier this week involving one of its helicopters.
At the time of her transport, Captain's injuries were considered life-threatening. The Crash Management team responded to the scene because of the seriousness of the injuries to Captain.
"Right before she got loaded in a helicopter, she was talking with paramedics," said Sgt. Kyle Krzemien of Genesee County Sheriff's Office. "Right now we're still not 100 percent, but I would say for right now, we're just gonna go with life-threatening until we hear otherwise."
Krzemien said the vehicle was westbound on Erie Street when it crossed the double center line and hit an embankment before becoming airborne. The vehicle then struck a utility pole, shearing it from its base, and, because of the speed of the vehicle, continued southwest until it struck the front porch of a house at 1390 Erie St. The driver then tried to drive out of the front yard of that house, going back East on Erie Street, and only getting 500 feet down the road before it stopped, the sergeant said.
There was a power outage in the area that included the traffic signals at Route 20 and Route 77. At the time of publication, 11 National Grid customers remained without power and power was not going to be restored before 4:30 a.m., according to National Grid.
Criminal charges are pending against Antonucci, according to the Sheriff's Office. The investigation is ongoing.
Darien Fire and Corfu Fire responded to the scene along with Mercy EMS.
Top photo: A car after it struck a utility pole and a home on Erie Street in Darien Sunday evening, the damage caused by the accident, and Mercy Flight Central removing one seriously injured woman from the scene. Photos by Howard Owens.
