A 19-year-old man is suffering from steam burns to his face and difficulty breathing following an accident involving an overheated vehicle on the Thruway. East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding to mile marker 394. 9 in the eastbound lane. Radiator fluid burned him.

UPDATE 2:51 p.m.: Responders are advised that traffic is still backed up on the Thruway due to the camper rollover accident about an hour ago. The chief tells them to get on the south shoulder and "run the shoulder" to get to the burn victim.

UPDATE 3:11 p.m.: The patient is being transported to Erie County Medical Center.

An RV rollover accident is reported in the eastbound lanes of the Thruway at mile marker 392.5. Unknown injuries. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 155 p.m.: Mercy Flight is on ground standby.

UPDATE 1:57 p.m.: There are six five patients and another Mercy unit is called to respond in high emergency mode. Mercy Flight is cancelled. A propane tank has been pulled off the camper by a bystander as a safety precaution. The accident site is on the shoulder of the roadway. Traffic police are requested.

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: A third Mercy rig is responding.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: There are three children and two adults, all with minor injuries, who will be transported to the hospital for evaluation.

If you're in the market for a used fire truck, the Alexander Fire Department has one for sale. It looks like lights and siren are included.

I spent a little time at the Attica Rodeo on Saturday hoping to come away with some pictures of Genesee County residents competing. I came away with two.

Above, Rob Wright of Alexander wrestles with a calf. Below, Tim and Todd Buckenmier compete in calf roping.

Below, a slide show of other photos I took while I was there.

A primary electrical line is down in the area of 9018 Lovers Lane, Corfu.

The line has fallen into a tree and there is smoke coming from the tree.

Corfu Fire Department is dispatched.

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A CSX engine reportedly lost some tanker cars as it passed through the Village of Bergen.

The tanker cars came loose from the train and the engine continued.

The cars are reportedly still on the tracks in the parking lot right behind the Ralph & Rosie deli.

Route 19 is not blocked.

Dispatch has received two calls on the situation.

CSX is being contacted to shut down the line.

UPDATE 11:43 a.m.: CSX contacted the conductor who has stopped his train and is now doing an inventory of his cars.

UPDATE 11:44 a.m.: CSX advices there were three trains coming through the area. The train that may have lost the cars was the third train through, so there should be no other trains coming through.

Volunteer firefighters from five companies gathered in Darien today for some specialized training in dealing with big, heavy vehicles involved in accidents.

"We want these guys to know they can do this," said Jason Graber, who was leading the training session. "We want them to come into a situation like this and know it's not hopeless. They have the right tools and the right training."

Three different accident scenarios were set up -- a tractor-trailer with a sedan wedged under it, a cement mixer stuck on a cement barrier and a passenger car that has slid under the back of a school bus.

The firefighters -- from Indian Falls, Darien, Corfu, East Pembroke and Alabama -- were shown what their options were in each situation, what tools they might use to deal with the situation and then given a chance to use the tools the way they might in a real accident.

In most cases, the first thing responders need to do is get the bigger vehicle stabilized so emergency workers can rescue any victims that are trapped.

"It's a system of making sure that everything we do first makes everything safe for the rest of the process," said Graber, who is a former Darien volunteer and now lives in Virginia where he works for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and volunteers for the Leesburg Fire Department.

Marissa Tomczak, of Elba, the daughter of Tim and Lynn Tomczak, is the 2011 Elba Onion Queen.

Tomczak won the crown over a field of eight finalists.

First runner-up was Marissa Pangrazio, of Elba, the daughter of Barbie Pangrazio. Second runner-up was Jamie Pcionek, of Oakfield, the daughter of James and Joyce Pcionek.

The other finalists were: Sydney Gallip, of Elba, the daughter of Stacey and Todd Gallip; Gretel Kauffman (bottom photo), of Elba, the daughter of Bill and Lucine Kauffman; Meg Stucko, of Elba, the daughter of Marty and Amy Stucko; Elizabeth Shuknecht, of Elba, the daughter of Robin and Dale Shuknecht; and Jenna E. Brown, of Byron, the daughter of Kathleen Miller and Gary Brown.

Gretel Kauffman is a correspondent for The Batavian and is currently auditioning four-year universities. She plans to major in journalism.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: The winner of the Mustang raffle is Edith Bezon, of Byron. No word yet on whether she'll take the car or the cash.

The United Methodist Church held their annual Blueberry Festval in Indian Falls today. Included in the event was a lawn mower race. Dick Rudolph took home the first-place prize! Congratulations Dick!

Six people -- three men and three women -- reportedly kicked in a door at Rolling Hills in Bethany, found there were actually people inside and took off.

Police are being dispatched to the area to look for them.

They fled in a silver sedan on Bethany Center Road. The suspects were carrying alcoholic beverages in their hands.

The quick action of residents on Broadway Road in Darien today may have helped keep a serious accident from turning tragic.

After a 23-year-old mother from Cheektowaga lost control of her car on Route 20, having it turn over multiple times before coming to rest on the front lawn of Debbie Pugilese, residents rushed to the aid of the victims.

One witness, who was driving east on Route 20, called 9-1-1 and then called his wife, Emily Toal, a registered nurse.  

Toal reached the scene before EMS personnel arrived.

"I'm an RN so I figured if I could help at all, I should," Toal said. "When I got here, I found a 6-year-old, faint pulses, faint breath sounds, and there was a 12-week-old on the ground and the mother was sitting with the 12-week-old. The mother was in shock. We got towels and tried to keep everybody warm before the shock set in. We tried to keep the 6-year-old's head stable until the EMTs got here."

Deputy Patrick Reeves was impressed by the response of the residents. He described several coming to the scene.

"The residents in the area and the witnesses helped us out tremendously until EMS arrived," Reeves said.

Steve Kidder, who lives next door to Pugilese, and like Pugilese saw the accident, said everybody pitched in to do what they could to help.

"I’m glad to have all these folks as my neighbors," Kidder said.

Both Kidder and Pugilese said they saw the silver Chevy Malibu heading west on Route 20 when the car, for an unknown reason, crossed into the eastbound lane, struck a guardrail and became airborne. The car then hit a ditch and became airborne again and rolled over. It flew over Pugilese's driveway, hit the ground and rolled again, coming to rest on the driver's side.

The 6-year-old girl was ejected.

"When I came down the woman was crawling from the car with an infant," Pugilese said.

State Police said the driver was Jelissa Jones. The names have the children have not been released.

The driver and the infant reportedly suffered cuts and abrasions.  

The condition of the 6-year-old is not currently available. The child was transported to Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo by Mercy Flight.

Responding to the scene along with the Sheriff's Office and State Police were Darien fire volunteers and Mercy EMS.

(Initial Report)

One person has been ejected in a rollover accident at 2456 Route 20. Darien Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. No others vehicles are involved.

UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: Mercy Flight out of Batavia is called.

UPDATE 4:32 p.m.: A second Mercy Flight helicopter out of Buffalo is called. The victims are an infant a girl about 4 or 5 years old in a car seat who was ejected from the vehicle, an infant who is semi-conscious, and their mother, who is conscious and alert and has lacerations.

UPDATE 4:48 p.m.: Traffic is being shut down at routes 20 and 98. Also, no westbound traffic will be permitted on Route 20.

UPDATE 5:07 p.m.: The baby and the little girl are both headed to Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo via the Mercy Flight helicopters. The mother was transported by ground ambulance to ECMC. The accident reportedly occurred when the vehicle was westbound on Route 20, coming out of Alexander, and when it reached of the crest of the hill it went out of control for unknown reasons. It hit a guardrail, flipped over, hit a ditch, flipped over again, ejecting a 6-year-old girl, and came to rest. The mother is said to have crawled from the wreckage carrying the 3-month-old baby in her arms.

A car has reportedly hit a structure, knowns as building #3, at 18 Genesee St., Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance Service dispatched.

UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: There is apparent structural damage to the building. The code enforcement officer requested to the scene. Responding units can come in non-emergency.

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A big hose on a gasoline tanker reportedly broke and a large amount of fuel was leaking at the Arrow Hawk Smoke Shop, located at 852 Bloomingdale Road in Alabama.

About 30 gallons of fuel has spilt but the leakage has been stopped.

Alabama Fire Department is now on scene.

A fire coordinator in Orleans County reportedly spotted an old fire truck heading south this morning running lights and sirens.

There was no fire.

With the truck heading toward Genesee County, the Sheriff's Office was notified.

An initial check of the area where it was thought to be turned up no results.

Then, about 9:45 a.m., a deputy spotted the truck on Seven Springs Road.

The truck is registered to a private individual in Hilton. It's labeled on the side "Morrisville."

The truck has appeared in a few parades in the area over the years.

Orleans officials are declining to issue citations. 

The Elba Onion Festival is unde rway, with all the fun, games, live music and great food that highlights the event every year.

A big crowd was on hand Friday night for the festivities.

The festival continues today, including the crowning of the Elba Onion Queen at 7 p.m.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer has a heck of a fastball.

Slide show of more pictures from Friday night below (click on the button lower right to view in full-screen mode). To purchase photographic prints from this event, click here.

Local band In Plain View opened for the Batavia Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium tonight. 

The band played a set of songs starting a little more than 30 minutes before game time in the concourse of the stadium.  

For a video of the event produced by Geoff Redick for WBTA, click here.

Pavilion Fire Department is being dispatched to the area of 1168 Taylor Road, Town of Covington, for a one-car MVA with injuries.

State Police are on scene. Mercy EMS also dispatched.

UPDATE 11:29 p.m.: Minor injuries.

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