accident

A driver involved in a single-vehicle accident at 11:28 p.m. Saturday on Route 262, Elba, has been charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs.

Joseph Paul Pratt, 20, of Church Street, Le Roy, was also charged with failure to keep right. 

Pratt was driving a 2010 Chevy pickup owned by another person eastbound on Route 262. The truck reportedly crossed into the westbound lane and went off the north shoulder of the road. It struck a guy wire for a utility pole and continued through a patch of trees and hedges, coming to rest in a field.  

Deputy Chris Parker reports that Pratt said he hit a patch of black ice.

The investigation showed, Parker wrote in the report, that Pratt's vehicle traveled in a straight line through a curve in the roadway.

A two-car accident occurred at 418 Genesee St., Darien.

The initial report had a subject complaining of a head injury. A minor head injury and a minor leg injury are reported.

The cars are no longer blocking.

The location is just before County Line Road.

Darien fire and ambulance dispatched. Corfu dispatched mutual aid.

UPDATE 7:56 a.m.: A second ambulance is requested to the scene. Mercy EMS dispatched.

An accident involving multiple vehicles, unknown injuries, is reported at 99 Jackson St. at the Red Apple Food Mart / Kwik Fill Gas Station. Mercy medics are on scene along with city firefighters.

UPDATE 10:23 p.m.: The driver of one of two vehicles involved fled the scene on foot and was subsequently located in Jackson Square in need of medical attention. A second ambulance went to that location. The driver of the other car had to be extricated. Howard at the scene says "It looks like they hit pretty hard."

UPDATE 11:16 p.m.: (Howard) At the time I left the scene, police officers had not yet pieced together the narrative of the accident. A witness said he was pumping gas when he heard a bang and looked up as saw a sedan hurtling toward the Kwik Fill station. The driver plowed through the snow and came to rest near the turn lane at Jackson and Ellicott. The witness said the airbags deployed and the driver seemed pretty incoherant. He said he helped the driver from the car and walked him over to the north side of Ellicott Street and sat him down on the curb. It was some time after that that the driver apparently decided to flee the scene. He was located later in Jackson Square and had a cut on his hand. The driver of the other car had a passenger.  The driver required extrication and appeared to be in a good deal of pain. The passenger was helped from the vehicle and stood for a moment before being placed on a stretcher.  The police will release more information once they have a better idea of what happened. The accident was reported as "multiple vehicles" at first because two or three cars stopped on Jackson because the drivers had witnessed the collision.

A vehicle crashed into a telephone pole and injuries are reported at 60 Clinton St. in the city. The pole snapped and wire are down. City fire, police and Mercy medics are responding. National Grid has been notified.

UPDATE 3:05 a.m.: The driver's injuries appear to be minor. The cause of the accident is under investigation. National Grid is on scene. 

UPDATE 3:08 a.m.: City fire is back in service.

A car has hit a tree in the area of 7022 Clinton Street Road, Bergen.

The driver is reportedly trapped and complaining of leg pain.

Bergen Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 11:06 p.m.: The initial caller has called back. The driver is no longer trapped in the vehicle. He is now in the caller's car, still complaining of leg pain.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported at 234 Broadway Road, Darien. An adult and a young child may be injured. They are out of the vehicle. Darien fire is responding.

UPDATE 5:58 p.m.: Command requests Mercy medics to respond. The location is between Harlow and County Line roads.

A car versus pole accident is reported at 8056 Bank Street Road. Unknown injuries, but there is entrapment. Town of Batavia fire and Mercy medics are responding.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported on Lewiston Road. Genesee County dispatch plotted the call locale as east of Knowlesville Road. Alabama fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: A responder on scene reports "a vehicle into the trees."

A motor-vehicle accident is reported, with unknown injuries, on the westbound I-490 near mile marker 2. Bergen fire is responding along with Le Roy fire and ambulance.

A truck reportedly struck the Batavia Police Station at 10 W. Main St. and a person is trapped inside the vehicle. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: The driver is speaking with a police officer.

UPDATE: The male driver was not seriously injured. He was transported to a hospital outside of Genesee County.

More information in the video:

A car has reportedly hit a tree on Cole Road, Le Roy.

Injuries are reported.

Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched.

A car has reportedly hit a tree and there are unknown injuries at 3992 South Main Street Road, near Fairway Drive, Batavia.

Town of Batavia Fire and Alexander Fire's ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 6:11 a.m.: Law enforcement on scene reports no injuries. Alexander's ambulance is cancelled. Town of Batavia can hold all equipment in hall.

A reader who witnessed the accident reports a westbound tractor-trailer has jackknifed on Route 5 near Bater Road, Le Roy.

The truck hit a pole and the eastbound lane is blocked.

A trooper just arrived on scene.

UPDATE 5:58 a.m.: Le Roy fire requested to shut down traffic westbound on Route 5 at Keeney Road. Stafford fire requested to shut down traffic eastbound at Buckley Road.

UPDATE 6:44 a.m.: Traffic is reopened. Stafford and Le Roy back in service.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported near Judge Road and Macomber Road, Oakfield.

A medic on scene reports two minor injuries and one person trapped. A second ambulance is requested to the scene.

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:40 a.m.: Alabama fire requested to the scene for traffic control.

UPDATE 5:44 a.m.: A second ambulance might not be needed. Two minor injuries. "We might be able to double stack one rig," a responder tells dispatch.

A car versus tree accident is reported in the area of 7893 Town Line Road, just west of Buffalo Street, Bergen. The driver is trapped inside and possibly has a head injury. Bergen fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE: Photo submitted by Anne Sapienza.

A car careened into a tree at 6692 Randall Road, Stafford. The driver is out of the vehicle and inside the residence at that location and complains of neck pain, according to dispatch. Stafford fire and Mercy medics are responding.

The man killed in a hit-and-run accident in Newstead has been identified, and he's from Corfu.

The victim was 38-year-old Francis A. Meldrum Jr., according the the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

A passerby reportedly found Meldrum's body in the roadway along Indian Falls Road shortly after midnight.

Authorities believe either an SUV or truck hit Meldrum, but are not ruling out a passenger car. There were apparently no witnesses and no physical evidence to help identify the vehicle was found at the scene.

The Erie County Sheriff's Office is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver whose vehicle hit Meldrum.

An Erie County man who apparently lost control of his vehicle on an icy Route 20 in Pavilion yesterday died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

Christopher J. Hartnett, 44, of Woodward Drive, West Seneca, was driving his 2007 Dodge minivan eastbound when the vehicle slid off the road and struck a tree.

The accident was reported at 4:48 p.m. on Route 20 near South Street Road.

He was extricated from the van by volunteer firefighters and transported by Mercy EMS to an area hospital, where he died upon arrival.

Two passengers, Andrew Hartnett, 14, of West Seneca, and Jonah Cross, 10, of Amherst, were both injured. Andrew Suffered a head injury and some lacerations and was taken to Strong, where he's listed in stable condition. Jonah suffered minor injuries and was transported to Strong for a precautionary evaluation.

A dog in the vehicle appeared to be unharmed and was taken to the animal shelter until family members could pick him up.

Pavilion and Le Roy fire departments responded to the scene.

Trooper Steve Brady assisted the Sheriff's Office at the scene.

The accident is being investigation being conducted by Deputy Chad Minuto along with Crash Management Team members Sgt. Eric Seppala and Deputy James Diehl.

A one-car rollover accident is reported in the area of 7365 Telephone Road, Pavilion.

Injuries are reported.

Pavilion fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Roads are icy.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: Apparently, minor injuries.

One person is trapped in a car following a one-vehicle rollover accident in the area of 7394 Townline Road, Bergen.

Unknown injuries.

Bergen fire and Byron ambulance responding.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Byron is transporting one to the hospital and Bergen fire is back in service.