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Five children injured in car accident in Darien

By Howard B. Owens

Five children where injured in a two-car accident on Thursday afternoon when a 17-year-old driver in Darien allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way.

All five children, ages 9 to 13, were transported by ground ambulance to Erie County Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The 17-year-old driver, Dean G. Cullinan, of Prospect Street, Corfu, also suffered a minor injury and was transported to UMMC.

Cullinan was reportedly southbound on County Line Road when he went through a stop sign at Sumner Road.

Kelly Susan Ford, 45, of Fairfield Drive, Clarence, was driving a 2011 Honda SUV eastbound on Sumner with the five children in the vehicle.

Ford told Deputy Ron Meides that Cullinan's 1995 Plymouth minivan seemed to suddenly appear in front of her at the intersection. She couldn't tell, she said, if the minivan had stopped before entering the intersection.

Cullinan told Meides that he had stopped and decided to proceed once he thought the roadway was clear of cross traffic. He said he didn't see Ford's SUV.

The children injured were Kristen H. Olivieri, 9, Clarissa Surianello, 13, Mara K. Giambrone, 13, Emily E. Ford, 13, and Katherine L. Ford, 11.

Meides issued citations to Cullinan for allegedly failing to stop at a stop sign and failure to yield the right-of-way.

(initial report)

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