I've been driving through Stafford in the evenings a lot recently and every time I pass the barn on Griswold Road off Clinton Street Road, I wish I had my camera with me. Yesterday evening, I time my trip for sunset and had my camera with me.
A deputy dispatched at 1:43 p.m., Thursday, to a report of an erratic driver on Route 33 saw the driver slumped over the steering wheel just before his large SUV veered left and struck another car head on.
The driver of the car, Gladys E. Worthington, 79, of Woodside Drive, Bergen, was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by ground ambulance.
Worthington reportedly pulled to the side of the road when she saw the deputy's patrol vehicle heading her way with emergency lights flashing.
Deputy Nate Balduf was attempting to stop a Chevy Suburban driven by Raymond T. Buckner, 67, of Maplewood Avenue, Spencerport.
Buckner's SUV, headed westbound on Route 33 near Caswell Road, swerved across the eastbound lane and struck Worthington's stopped car head on.
Worthington's car flew back eastbound and came to rest about 120 yards from the point of impact.
A witness, a truck driver from Akron (who probably didn't give us his real name), described the collision as looking like "two dragons colliding in midair."
Worthington was conscious and alert following the accident and as she was transported to Strong. Her injuries are not believed to be serious.
Buckner was also transported to strong and did not sustain any life threatening injuries.
No information was released on what Buckner's medical condition might have been prior to the accident.
No citations were issued.
The accident investigation was completed by Balduf.
A bicyclist hit by a semi-truck on Route 33 near Terry Hills earlier today may have been under the influence of drugs, according to a Sheriff's Office accident report.
Gregory Seppe, 53, of Prestige Crossing, Batavia, was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance with an apparent head injury and in a semi-conscious state.
Witnesses told Deputy Chris Parker that Seppe appeared under the influence of drugs prior to the accident.
The truck driver, Brandan P. Smith, 27, of Munger Street, Bergen, said he saw the bike swerving into his westbound lane prior to his truck getting to Seppe's location. Then the bike returned to its own lane. Smith said he moved partially into the eastbound lane to try and avoid the bicyclist.
As the truck passed, Seppe apparently swerved into the westbound traffic lane again and was struck by the trailer on Smith's truck.
Seppe's son told Parker that Seppe had just left his residence and appeared to be highly impaired by drugs.
The son's neighbor told Parker that he saw Seppe fall down three times prior to leaving on the bike.
No citations were issued.
In hindsight, 21-year-old Danielle Lovett wishes she hadn't said it was OK for witnesses to leave the scene of an accident she was involved in Sunday night.
It turns out that after the witnesses left, so did the driver of the other car -- flat tire, damaged muffler and all.
Lovett's 1999 Buick was totaled.
Even though Lovett's insurance is giving her $2,100 toward a replacement, she still has to pay a $500 deductible.
"I'd just like to find him so he can pay me back the $500," Lovett said.
She describes the driver as a white male in his late 40s or early 50s. She believes he was driving a Pontiac Aztec or similarly styled car.
The driver's side rear suffered some damage, she said. The man drove off with a flat tire and the noise from his muffler made Lovett think his exhaust system was damaged in the accident.
Even though the Sheriff's Office is investigating the accident, Lovett has tried herself to find the driver, alerting area mechanics and body shops to the damage.
A Bergen resident, Lovett said she was heading home from Batavia at 11 p.m., Sunday, on Route 33 in Stafford when a car coming off of Prole Road failed to yield at a stop sign.
She was unable to brake in time and struck the rear of the car.
Lovett wasn't hurt, but she knew right away her car was majorly damaged.
She said when she got out of the car, the other driver approached her and asked if she was OK. She was, and he said, "OK, so I can leave now?"
"No," she said. "We need to do this the right way."
She called 9-1-1 and when she got off the phone, the man said, "OK, so I can leave now?"
Lovett insisted he stay and suggested they exchange information. He said he would go to his car and get his documents and she searched her glove box for a pen. When she looked up, the man was getting his car and leaving.
Lovett said the man stumbled toward her after he got out of his car and had slurred speech. At first, she figured he was just as shaken up as she was, but after awhile, she realized it was more than just after-accident shock.
"That's when I thought, 'Oh, my God, he's drunk,'" she said. "He's totally wasted."
There was at least one witness to the accident, Lovett believes, and other people who may have seen the hit-and-run car. She's hoping somebody will be able to come forward with more information to help find the driver.
UPDATE: A possible suspect vehicle has been identified. About 20 minutes after this post appeared, Lovett received a call from a person who read the story suggested a car matching the description was parked at a local repair shop. I happened by while Danielle was checking out the vehicle. She said the car sure looked like the one from the accident and the paint transfer, she said, matched the color of her vehicle. The deputy investigating the accident, Howard Carlson, doesn't come on duty until 11 p.m. and Lovett was told to call back then.
Drive from Bergen to Batavia, southwest on Route 33, and just a mile or so from the Route 237 intersection, you will see a big red barn with "Oderkirk" in hand-painted big white letters on one end.
We've all seen it.
And this time of year, we've all noticed the sunflowers saturating the north side of the property, too.
The free sunflowers, it turns out, are just a ploy to get you to stop and buy vegetables from Richard Oderkirk.
The 69-year-old is a fifth generation farmer to operate the Oderkirk spread since 1877. But he's retired now and growing vegetables is both a hobby and a way to supplement his income.
"They're self-seeded," Oderkirk said about the sunflowers. "I try to exterminate a few more of them each year. They provide a lot of shade for my squash plants -- too much shade."
It's the winter squash that Oderkirk really hopes to sell each year -- it will be ready in a few more weeks, and when it is, even the cucumbers and tomatoes will be given away, so more people will stop and buy the squash.
And people do stop. Often with cameras in hand.
"I enjoy seeing people like the sunflowers," Oderkirk said. "I had an art student from GCC here 10 days ago taking pictures, and two girls yesterday. I'm happy seeing that."
The sixth and seventh generation of the Oderkirk family now live on the property. Once a dairy farm of 280 acres, it's now the 2.5-acre residence of Mary Thomas, her husband and daughter.
Asked what she thought of so many people driving by and admiring her property, Thomas said, "I’m surprised to hear somebody say that. I guess I didn’t think of the place like that. I see people stop to take pictures of the sunflowers. That’s nice. I get tickled when Dad gives them away for free."
Knowing that daughter Mary enjoys the sunflowers, Dad planted a small variety -- the plants closer to the road are HUGE -- on the far side of the barn, and if she squints between barn structures, Mary can see from her kitchen window.
Good naturally, she turned to her dad while we were taking and said, "They aggravate you because they’re not produce, but I love them because they add beauty. Everybody likes them, Dad."
Everybody does, even Richard, even if he doesn't always admit it.
More photos after the jump:
A car is reportedly on its side in the area of 5860 Clinton St. Road, Batavia.
There are reportedly injuries.
UPDATE 10:40 p.m.: Stafford Fire is responding. One older woman is trapped in the car. It's unknown if she's injured.
UPDATE 11:05 p.m.: "Victim extricated." Previously, Mercy Flight was dispatched and then cancelled.
UPDATE 11:21 p.m.: The driver is being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy EMS.
Three men from Utica have been arrested and charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into apartments yesterday at 5219 Clinton St. Road, Batavia.
They reportedly broke into the apartments during the late morning hours and stole or damaged clothing and electronics.
Taken into custody were:
Each of the three men were charged with four counts of burglary in the second degree and jailed on $25,000 bail.
The case was investigated by Deputy John Duyssen, Deputy Bradley Mazur, Sgt. Gregory Walker, Investigator William Ferrando and Investigator Kristopher Kautz with assistance from the Batavia Police Department, the New York State Police and the District Attorney's office.
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