Skip to main content

Motorcycle hits deer on West Main Street, Batavia, two injured

By Howard B. Owens

A motorcycle has hit a deer in the area of 4003 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

Two people are reported unconscious.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire responding. Mercy Flight is on stand by.

UPDATE 3:00 p.m.: Two Mercy Flight helicopters requested to the scene.

UPDATE 4:37 p.m.: No official word yet on the investigation. Two people were transported by Mercy Flight, and at least one of those helicopters went to Strong Memorial Hospital. An officer said it didn't look like either rider was wearing a state-approved safety helmet (though they were wearing helmets). The injured deer was put down after the accident. More information when it becomes available.

UPDATE: The driver and passenger have been identified: Driver, David L. Patrick, 63, of 21 Birchwood Acres, Perry. Passenger, Nancy L. Patrick, 58. The driver was taken to ECMC and the passenger to Strong. The accident investigation revealed that the deer entered road from the southern shoulder and ran into Nancy, causing David to lose control of the bike.

UPDATE: Both people were taken to Strong. Both are listed in guarded condition. At Strong, "guarded" means the patient is in the intensive care unit.


View Larger Map

Gary Spencer

I saw a couple on a motorcycle heading west on main close to that time, the female passenger was wearing a tank top, I thought to myself then that it would be horrible if they were to wipe out, now I wonder if it was them......

Jul 26, 2010, 4:54pm Permalink
Mary E DelPlato

I hope they are ok but who decides if a deer is too injured to go to a wildlife rehabber for treatment? Someone with professional knowledge or just someone who assumes. I hate to see an animal put down if there are treatable injuries. There is something heartwarming in being able to save a life whether human or animal.

Jul 26, 2010, 11:32pm Permalink
wilfredo antonetty

i understand what you mean. i uysed to live by state street with my children at that time they were young between 10 and 14, i heard a gunshot and when i went out do investigate it was a city policeman shot a dog because it was acting like a dog and was sniffing his police dog he shot it dead right there with kids all over the place, was sad and as angry, i guess some people figure they will never get to use thier guns so they do crazy stuff. this is the Gods honest truth..

Jul 27, 2010, 12:02am Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Mary, Deer belong to the state and it has responsibility for their management. Police are given the responsibility to make the judgment whether to put the deer down or not. In this instance, all of the activity happening with ambulances, police trying to handle traffic, fire crews on scene and a helicopter trying to get two injured people out of the area, do you really think anyone has the time to make sure an injured deer gets to a rehabilitation center? C'mon, think logically. Who is going to babysit that injured deer and make sure it doesn't suddenly try to run in panic mode and possibly run back out into traffic or into a crowd of rescuers possibly injuring THEM? Yes, mortally injured deer are dangerous. Ask any hunter why they approach from the back of a deer they just shot. They're unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

I'm pretty sure there are too many deer and that's part of the vehicle-deer collisions happening so frequently. I personally believe there are also too many people but that's a discussion for a different forum.

Wilfredo, what are you trying to say? Did the officer shoot a dead dog? You said he shot it dead. The paperwork involved for discharging a firearm in the line of duty is prohibitive of shooting a dog for no reason, as you claim. I know people like you. You're the type of person who actually believes what they claim but really, you have no clue what happened. You simply see the end result of some event and then you formulate a scenario in your mind and run with it. Clearly, you stated that you were not present when you heard the shot. When you arrived on scene, you saw a dead dog that had been shot by a police officer. I doubt that the officer told you "sir, that darn dog was sniffing MY dog's BUTT so I SHOT it!" I just shot your "story" full of holes without a gun.

Jul 27, 2010, 6:41am Permalink
Jason Reszetucha

Some update on this story would be nice. Its always great when people are more worried about some over populated Road Goat, Than two people laying unconcious in the street. A lot of people wont ride after dark because of the deer. Hopefully they arent seriously injured and make a speedy recovery..

Jul 27, 2010, 7:24am Permalink
Bill Schutt

Certainly another example of the unchecked deer population. As a bike rider I can say the deer issue has become a 24 hr issue no longer just at dusk or after dark. This accident was at 3:00 in the afternoon on a busy 4 lane highway not some dark back contry road.

FYI Howard NYS does not approve helmets, furthermore they do not even publish a list of approved helmets and the deer still would have been where it should not have been.

Jul 27, 2010, 7:46am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

A reader e-mailed this in:

"Section 381-6 of the Vehicle traffic law refers to section 571.218 of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as the listing of approved helmets."

Jul 27, 2010, 8:41am Permalink
Amber Blaszak

Mary,
As far as i know they no longer have deer rehabilitation in genesee county. I called the SPCA about 4 years back after a deer had been hit on my street. The deer got up and ran and fell into the feild across from my house. The SPCA gave me a number to the only person left in genesee county use specialized in thier recovery. When i called her she said she no longer did it because funding was non-exsistant anymore since deer population has increased so much people no longer donated or cared. The police man had to shoot the deer twice in the head, it was so sad, had i know that would happen i would have hid it in my barn and helped it.. it suffered more being shot because the first time it STILL wanted to get up.. the second time ended the poor things life.

Jul 27, 2010, 8:45am Permalink
Lori Silvernail

The Daily News (sorry Howard, was just checking for more info on this...) reported that when the deer attempted to jump over the motorcycle it struck the passenger, which in turn made the bike tip. The deer was then hit by another car.

The Daily also reported that both riders "...suffered severe head injuries..." My thoughts go out to THEM for a quick recovery, not to the deer.

Jul 27, 2010, 9:00am Permalink
Jason Reszetucha

Penal code for a DOT approved helmet. As long as it has a DOT sticker and its not a (novelty helmet) your still legal. I will only wear a full face helmet now, After years of wind noise,rain,and these supposed ((saftey check points ))$TATE POLICE CA$H GRAB$. Who cares how cool you think you look... DOT= (Dept of transportation)

Jul 27, 2010, 9:02am Permalink
Doug Yeomans

From day-1 of riding a motorcycle, I've always used a full-faced helmet, a good riding jacket, riding pants, leather gloves and boots. Nothing works 100% effectively but they sure do put the odds more into your favor.

Bill, I couldn't agree more with the 24/7 deer problem. As a bike rider myself, I've never seen more dead "road goats" (LOL Jason!) than those along road shoulders this summer.

Hunters, put as many deer as you can into the freezer this season! I know I will.

Amber, they're wild animals or road goats as Jason calls them, not pets. You would've made that animal suffer even worse than it did if you had tried to "help" it. You have no idea how to set broken bones, check for internal injuries, treat for shock, what to feed the deer seasonally (their diet changes during the fall, winter, spring and summer) and you can kill it by feeding it something that their gut can't digest. Oh, yeah, did I say it was a wild animal? Try doing all those things to an animal that sees you as a predator and tries to kick the snot out of you. It doesn't know that you're trying to "help" it.

This is what happens to people when they view animals from a Disney point of view and not from a reality based view. Does anyone want to see an animal suffer? Not anyone I know..not even hunters.

Jul 27, 2010, 9:31am Permalink
Bill Schutt

"Section 381-6 of the Vehicle traffic law refers to section 571.218 of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as the listing of approved helmets."

Section 571.218 is the test standard not a list of approved helmets. I was questioning why Howard felt it was "news worthy" to report on speculation that their helments may not have been "approved". As if had they been wearing approved helmets the accident would not have happened. FYI less than 50% of motorcycle deaths are unhelmeted riders (meaning more than 50% of deaths are helmeted riders) and nearly 100% of automobile deaths are unhelmeted, just something to think about.

9. How does a helmet get added to NHTSA�s approved helmet list?

DOT or NHTSA does not "approve" motorcycle helmets, thus, there is no list of "approved" helmets. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the statutory authority to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) applicable to motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment, including motorcycle helmets. The law establishes a self-certification process in which the motorcycle helmet manufacturers certify that their products are in compliance with FMVSS No. 218, which establishes minimum performance requirements that the products must meet. NHTSA enforces the standard by randomly selecting and purchasing motorcycle helmets from the marketplace and testing to the requirements of the standard at independent test labs.

Reference http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/faq%20site/pages/page3.html#Q9

Jul 27, 2010, 9:59am Permalink
John Roach

George,
You make a great point.

The state, trying to raise money, has priced some hunters out. Avid hunters will pay the going rate, but the guy who only wants to go once or twice will stay home. If they lowered the price of hunting licenses, they might actually bring in more money with more people buying them (same for fishing).

Jul 27, 2010, 10:22am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Section 381: "It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he wears a protective helmet of a type which meets the requirements set forth in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle safety standards ..."

Notice the word "unlawful" ... if you want to quibble over "state-approved" go for it.

As for "newsworthy" -- outside of that being a completely BS term -- it's "newsworthy" because the riders suffered head injuries. So it's noteworthy that they may not have been/allegedly not wearing standardized helmets.

FWIW: I don't think the State should regulate helmets. Like seat belts, it's an individual decision. But that doesn't mean it isn't a noteworthy element of the story. I'd also note if a person seriously hurt in a car wreck wasn't wearing a seat belt.

Jul 27, 2010, 10:32am Permalink
George Richardson

George II, NYS is no worse than anywhere else. The grass always appears greener on the other side, but it's the same color green. It's all about attitude. "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and a bunch of cold hearted jerks will laugh at you while you cry alone." I get more and more like Mark Twain everyday, he's dead.

Jul 27, 2010, 11:02am Permalink
Angela Penkszyk

I do not hunt myself, but I love venison. I also know a lot of hunters who love to hunt, but have to stop when their tags (or freezers) are full. Sooo... if I buy the tag, any hunters extraordinaire out there who'd wanna get me a tasty one? I, of course, will butcher it myself. Oh, and how much is a tag? (Lookie Loo, I get to post a free "want ad" -- Thanks, Howard!!)

Jul 27, 2010, 1:25pm Permalink
Mary E DelPlato

In my comment I believe my first sentence put humans first and while all that ruckus going on to help the injured humans, its ppl like me on the sidelines wanting to help something in the grand picture instead of just standing there. I like how the hunters come in and say to hell with the deer when because of them deer are over populating for the loss of the herd. When herds are thinned by mostly hunters they will do their best to repopulate even more. I did say a prayer for the humans and I did feel sympathy for the deer as well. Call me wat u wanna but at least I can go deeper in my heart than some.

Jul 27, 2010, 9:49pm Permalink
Mary E DelPlato

One other thing...I dont believe that anything is an accident. I believe everything is predetermined. Everything that happened that day was supposed to happen that day and God decided for them not to die that day as its predetermined for me to write this letter or you wouldnt be reading it right now if I wasnt meant to write it. Good things we do or bad its still going to happen and tomorrow this that Ive just done will be irreversable. Am I typing to fast for you vern?

Jul 27, 2010, 9:54pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

I guess if everything is predetermined then the road goat was meant to jump over the bike, get hit by a car and be shot by the cop. Where's the dilemma?

If everything is predetermined, everyone is absolved from doing anything wrong. There's no choice if we're all just an executed process that some other intelligent designer wrote into the ultimate computer code.

You can't help it that you sound a little nutty. It's predetermined so you're good to go. You've just put every therapist, counselor and doctor out of business because no matter what they say or do, the outcome will always be the same. It's in the bible code!

Your god seems a little sadistic if "it" has the power to decide that they shouldn't die but then allowed them to suffer in a bike wreck. Why didn't your god just prevent the accident if "it's" so kind and generous? Wait, I know your answer. "God works in mysterious ways and who are we to question it, right?"

Hey, if you can't reason with logic, smother them with hocus pocus.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g4ouPGGLI6Q&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><pa… name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g4ouPGGLI6Q&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Jul 28, 2010, 7:30am Permalink
Bea McManis

Mary,
Predestination is a good theory until you attempt to add human emotion.
The accident was predetermined. The deer was predetermined to die after the accident.
Then, why would you say that you were a helpless bystander who wanted to save the deer.
Accepting predestination means that you accept the fate of all involved in that accident.
It doesn't sound as if you were ready to accept the predetermined fate of the deer.

Jul 28, 2010, 6:31am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Mary, if it's all pre-determined, than why do you complain about all the things in the city that you complain about? Either it's going to change or its not. It's pre-determined. Nothing you could say is going to change it. So what's the point in complaining?

Jul 28, 2010, 8:17am Permalink
Bryant Tyson

Rock on Mary!
Not that I agree but enjoy your point of view and know your hart is in the right place.
Two shots point blank to the head? I know the 9mm has about as much knock down power as a BB gun but someone needs to spend more time at the shooting range.lol

Jul 28, 2010, 9:10am Permalink
Gabor Deutsch

I looked that same song up about two weeks ago. The album long play version is much better. I actually bought that album when it came out and sorry to say I only like this one song !

Jul 28, 2010, 11:47am Permalink
Gary Diegelman

I totally agree with George, The state screwed up when they increased the cost of hunting licenses thus making fewer hunters and more deer to be hit and starve during the winter. Talk about inhumane wait till we get a long hard winter and more dead deer show up. I agree longer deer season. Feed venison to the state prisoners like they used to in days gone by. By the way wait till geese start getting hit.

I agree with Doug about predetermination. My old saying holds "When your numbers up your numbers up". So live life as hard as you can if your number isn't up yet it's all good if it is at least you have lived a good life!

Jul 28, 2010, 6:23pm Permalink
Mary E DelPlato

Choices?????I make a choice to turn left...its the right choice at the time...I hit a pole. If that wasnt meant to happen I would have not hit the pole even tho it was the right choice. Even making choices are allready written. Whether a right or wrong. I just had to question the officers authority on wild life decisions. Its allready predetermined that I would question that. Cant wait til tomorrow to see what predetermined feedback I get.

Jul 28, 2010, 10:18pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

RE:
Posted by Mary E DelPlato on July 28, 2010 - 10:18pm
Choices?????I make a choice to turn left...its the right choice at the time...I hit a pole. If that wasnt meant to happen I would have not hit the pole even tho it was the right choice. Even making choices are allready written. Whether a right or wrong. I just had to question the officers authority on wild life decisions. Its allready predetermined that I would question that. Cant wait til tomorrow to see what predetermined feedback I get.

---------

I predetermine that everyone else is trying to figure out what you just said.

Jul 29, 2010, 2:28pm Permalink
Mary E DelPlato

lol predetermine this and Howard why do u comment cant u just sit back and watch...the decisions bout the mess our city is in were already made and the writings on the wall...i see no hope here...n e ways...Doug thats a typo I would have hit that pole anyway i just ? choices that are made which are gonna be made right or wrong...but yes I agree nuttin would have changed the out come of wat happened that day thats why I said theres no such thing has an accident we cant change the things that will take place today...i just hope it wasnt that blind deer that was hangin round my workplace..."the soul is not fully awake til it sees an animal as a sentient creature"...sorry but i trust animals more than some humans

Jul 30, 2010, 3:32pm Permalink

Authentically Local