Site search

Current update: 12:42 p.m.

Despite warning signs for patrons and training of employees regarding certain people with physical disabilities not being allowed on the Ride of Steel at Darien Lake, Sgt. James Hackemer was able to embark on the rollercoaster.

Hackemer should have been able to see a warning sign

Deputy Ronald E. Meides, right, with Sheriff Gary Maha, was named the Genesee County Sheriff's Office 2009 Officer of the Year today during a luncheon at the department's Park Road facility.

The Distinguished Service Award went to Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher Gary D. Diegelman. Pictured left to right below: Steven

The victim of a tragic roller coaster accident at Darien Lake Theme Park this afternoon was 29-year-old James Hackemer, of Gowanda. He is a veteran of the Iraq War and a double-amputee. One of his legs was removed at the hip, and other below just above the knee.

The Ride

A 29-year-old meth cook from South Byron accepted a plea bargain today that could lead to a three- to five-year prison sentence, rather than the maximum 10-year sentence he was facing.

Matthew Zon pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance, 2nd, for his part in the meth lab