accident

A car has hit a tree in the area of 9546 Creek Road in Bethany. There are believed to be minor injuries. There was air bag deployment.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

The location is across from Old Creek and Putnam roads.

UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: There is debris all over the roadway. Fire police are shutting the road to traffic.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: The driver was transported to UMMC with minor injuries. They are cleaning up the roadway.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: The roadway is being reopened to traffic.

The initial call reported a female driver either partially ejected from or underneath a vehicle which rolled over in the area of 7178 Hutton Road, Oakfield.

A first responder says there's one person trapped in the car, but appears uninjured. Another person is unaccounted for.

There are power lines down in the area, but power appears to on. National Grid requested to the scene as a precaution.

Oakfield Fire Department responding.

Mercy Flight is not available due to weather.

UPDATE 5:12 a.m.: A second ambulance requested to the scene, but apparently no more Mercy EMS rigs are available, so Medina is requested to the scene.  Mutual aid response from Town of Batavia Fire requested.

UPDATE 5:20 A.M.: Medina's response cancelled.

UPDATE 5:27 a.m.: It sounds like law enforcement thinks the driver has walked away from the accident. A search is in progress.

UPDATE 5:52 a.m.: The trapped person has been extricated. No word on the location of the driver.

UPDATE 6:41 a.m.: The road is reopened.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: Based on the accident report, there was only one person in the car, the driver. 

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Angelo Merica III, the second driver in Wednesday's fatal crash that took the life of 37-year-old Jonathan Colby remains in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Family members are concerned that he may never walk again.

WBTA's Geoff Redick spoke with Merica's uncle, Jamie Merica, who said Angelo -- the father of two young children who recently moved to Batavia from Pavilion -- was planning to get married in July.

Now family members worry that he won't be able to walk down the isle.

"He's going to have a long, tough road ahead of him, for sure," Jamie said.

Though conscious and alert when he was extricated from his car, the 27-year-old Angelo Merica is now in an induced coma.

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.

The driver of one vehicle in a two-car crash at on Townline Road near Byron-Holley Road, Byron, has disappeared according to a chief on scene.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding. A chief asked to confirm that law enforcement was en route.

No report on injuries.

UPDATED 2:40 p.m.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene and another person transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital following a head-on collision on West Main Street Road, Town of Batavia, just before 7:30 a.m.

The two-car collision occurred about 3/4 of a mile west of Wortendyke Road and about two miles west of another fatal head-on collision two months ago.

Jonathan M. Colby, 37, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

The other driver was Angelo A. Merica III, 27, of Pavilion.

The Sheriff's Office release said for "unknown reasons" Colby's 2007 Dodge, heading eastbound, crossed into the westbound lane and struck Merica's 2000 Pontiac.

Driver fatigue may have been a factor in the crash. 

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble said witnesses described Colby's vehicle drifting over the center line in a slow movement, rather than a jerk, which is conisistent with somebody falling asleep or some prolonged driver distraction.

Colby's car drifted all the way over to the eastbound lane's fog lines, Dibble said, before it struck Merica's car.

What exactly was going on in Colby's car may remain an open question.

"In the end, those are the things you never know with 100 percent certainty," Dibble said.

The cars appear to have hit squarely head-on at a significant rate of speed. The pavement was wet this morning following an overnight rainstorm.

Merica was transported to Strong and was conscious and alert during an extrication procedure, Sheriff Gary Maha said. The man's leg was pinned in the vehicle.

Colby is originally from Olean, according to his Facebook profile. He was a big Batavia Muckdogs fan who attended most home games and sat in the third-base bleachers. When he was at a game, he had a scorebook in his lap and recorded every pitch.

He studied at the University of Rochester and worked at Lowe's.

His last Facebook status update, posted four hours before the crash from a mobile phone, read, "Overnights really starting to hit me now." Previous posts referenced working a spate of overnight shifts recently.

WBTA's Geoff Redick remembers Colby from his time at Notre Dame High School. ND was phasing out its Latin courses and Colby was brought in as a temporary teacher to instruct the third-level Latin course.

Redick described Colby as "very knowledgable" and "hard working."

"He used to come into teach class on his lunch hour from his job at Skalny Basket," Redick said.

"He was a very nice guy, but goal oriented," Redick recalled. "He could be tough on us at times."

Colby leaves behind a wife and 7-year-old daughter.

East Pembroke Fire responded to the accident along with mutual aid from Town of Batavia and Oakfield fire departments. Mercy EMS sent two ambulances.

The investigation is being conducted by Sgt W.C. Scott of the Sheriff's Office Crash Management Team, Deputy Brian Thompson and Investigator Rodger Stone.

On Feb. 8, 19-year-old Delores Opuku-Boateng, a nursing student at GCC, was killed in a head-on collision on West Main Street Road near County Building #2. Investigators allege that the driver of the car she was in, Levert Kimble, 21, was driving too fast for conditions. Kimble has been charged with reckless driving.

This post will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

(Initial Report)

A two-car accident has been reported in the area of Route 77 and Gabbey Road, Pembroke.

A child may have suffered minor injuries.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments responding.

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: A second Mercy EMS ambulance requested to the scene to transport a person with apparent minor injuries to a hospital in Erie County.

Conflicting reports are coming in about a possible hit-and-run accident with injuries at routes 33 and 19, Bergen.

It may involve two vehicles, or one car and a pedestrian.

Bergen Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:48 p.m.: A first responder on scene says he's with an injured victim who says he was in a vehicle that rolled over. Mercy Flight is not needed.

UPDATE 10:51 p.m.: A chief, "I've got no vehicle down here at this point."

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: Route 33 being closed at Townline. "Nobody gets past Townline," says a chief.

UPDATE 10:58 p.m.: The actual location is Route 33 and Appletree Avenue.

A driver heading west on Route 5 near Mill Road shortly after midnight claims she didn't see the turn signal of the car ahead of her and was unable to stop before slamming into the 2003 Chevy sedan.

The SUV overturned and six people inside were transported to UMMC for treatment of various injuries.

The driver, Amanda A. Mull, 26, of Knapp Road, Akron, was cited for allegedly following too close and unlicensed operation.

The driver and passengers in the SUV were Erika R. Kreidler, 18, Cashay O. Merritt, 19, Ynesha C. Nixon, 18, Shanta A. Bedo, 18, Precious M. Jones, 18, Nana S. Gyesi, 22.

Kreidler's vehicle is registered in Mt. Washington, Ky.

Mull was also injured and transported to UMMC.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

A tree has reportedly fallen on a 17-year-old boy in the woods located off 7007 Big Tree Road (Route 63), Pavilion.

Mercy Flight was contacted and says its unable to fly due to high winds.

The youth is conscious and semi-alert and has head and chest injuries.

Pavilion Fire Department and Mercy Medics are responding.

A 60-year-old Elba resident turned himself into police today, reportedly admitting he was the driver involved in a minor-injury, hit-and-run accident on Vine Street on Thursday night.

Craig Yunker, 60, of 6464 Transit Road, Elba, was charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and moving from lane unsafely.

Yesterday, Batavia Police issued a request for help in identifying the driver of a white pickup truck involved in an accident at 9:40 p.m., Thursday. The truck reportedly suffered heavy front-end damage in the head-on crash, but was reportedly able to drive from the scene.

The unidentified driver of the other car was transported with minor injuries to UMMC.

After turning himself in, Yunker was issued citations and ordered to appear in Batavia City Court at a later date.

A driver who died in a one-car accident on Little Canada Road, Bethany, this afternoon was reportedly not wearing a seat belt, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Suzanne M. Stratton, 51, of Clipnock Road, Bethany, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Donald Coleman.

Her passenger, 16-year-old Peter C. Couch, also of Clipnock Road, was wearing a seatbelt. He was transported to UMMC with minor injuries.

Stratton was driving at 1998 Dodge Stratus westbound on Little Canada Road just before 3:30 p.m. when she apparently failed to negotiate a curve. Her car flew off the roadway and overturned several times before coming to rest on its wheels in a field.

Stratton was ejected from the car.

The investigation is continuing and is being conducted by Deputy Cory Mower, Sgt. Greg Walker and Deputy Ron Meides.

Alcohol is not considered a factor.

Assisting at the scene were the Bethany Fire Department, Mercy EMS and State Police.

A gas tank has fallen off a vehicle and is leaking in the roadway on Summit Street, near North Street.

Batavia City Fire Department is responding.

Dan's Tire is en route with a flatbed tow truck.

UPDATE 8:17 p.m.: City fire crew is returning to quarters.

A serious rollover accident is reported at 5751 Little Canada Road in Bethany. There is a person outside of a vehicle, unconscious.

Mercy Flight is en route and will land at the scene.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. Stafford Fire Department is called to standby in its hall for possible mutual aid.

UPDATE 3:39 p.m.: Stafford is requested to the scene.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: A "second passenger" is reported to be out of the vehicle and walking around. Little Canada Road is being shut down to traffic at Fargo Road by fire police. Mercy Flight has been cancelled.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Bethany fire has cancelled mutual aid from Stafford.

UPDATE 4:05 p.m.: The front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries and is being transported by Mercy medics to UMMC.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: All emergency personnel are released from the scene with the exception of fire police to control traffic.

UPDATE 6:24 p.m.: Little Canada Road has been reopened.

A landing zone for Mercy Flight has been set up in the parking lot of United Memorial Medical Center on North Street in the City of Batavia.

But first the flight crew out of Buffalo will need to pick up a special medical team from Children's Hospital, with an estimated arrival time of about 10 minutes.

We have no other details.

However, within the past hour, there was a call for medics to respond to a 6-year-old boy, not breathing. That location, we believe, is in the vicinity of Old State and Griswold roads and Route 33, Bergen. The boy was transported to UMMC and administered CPR along the way.

UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: Mercy Flight is on the ground.

City fire is being dispatched to Vine and North streets for a minor-injury accident.

Dispatch describes it as "very minor injuries," but there are fluids leaking and police on scene requested the fire department.

Mercy EMS responding non-emergency.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at Route 20 and South Street Road in Pavilion.

Pavilion Fire Department, Mercy medics and Le Roy Ambulance are responding. Mercy Flight is on standby.

UPDATE 4:17 p.m.: There are two vehicles involved and two injuries reported. Mercy Flight is canceled.

UPDATE 4:19 p.m.: The two drivers are women who appear to have sustained superficial injuries.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: A third ambulance is called to the scene in nonemergency mode. No reason given.

A 17-year-old was seriously injured in an accident on Bethany Center Road, Bethany, at 2:09 p.m., Friday, after the driver of a truck apparently pulled onto the roadway off Cacner and struck the car the youth was in.

The car continued southbound, striking a mailbox, going off the left shoulder of the road.

Karl R. Kennedy, no address given, was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital where he is listed in guarded condition this morning (at Strong, any patient in the intensive care unit is listed as "guarded").

Kennedy was unconscious following the accident, according to the Sheriff's Office accident report. He suffered a head injury and was bleeding severely.

Charges are pending against the truck driver, said Deputy Bradley D. Mazur in his report.

The driver is identified as Dean W. Knauss, 53, of 9931 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany. He was driving a 1995 truck owned by a local dairy farm.

The car Kennedy was in was a 1998 Ford sedan driven by Michaela E. Baudanza, 17, of 7303 Morrow Road, Pavilion.  

Baudanza suffered minor injuries. Knauss was uninjured.

(Initial Report)

A motor-vehicle accident with possibly serious injuries is reported in Bethany at 10330 Bethany Center Road near Cacner Road.

Mercy Flight is airborne and heading to the location. The helicopter is to land right at the scene, in a field south-southeast of the accident.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are called to respond.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and headed to Strong Memorial Hospital. Another victim was taken to UMMC via ambulance.

A person has suffered minor injuries, but is trapped in his car after a rollover accident on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 388, westbound lane.

The driver conscious and alert and talking with emergency dispatch.

He is injured and unable to get out of the car.

Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 11:58 p.m.: The vehicle is on its wheels. "We will need to have the door popped," a Mercy medic informs a Batavia chief.