thruway

A van has reportedly left the roadway and struck a tree in the area of mile marker 404.6 in the eastbound lane of the Thruway.

Unknown injuries.

Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls FIre, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 1:50 a.m.: No injuries. 

There is a vehicle into the median in the area of mile marker 402, eastbound, on the Thruway.

Unknown injuries.

Pembroke Fire and Indian Falls fire departments, along with Mercy EMS responding.

The name of the victim of a fatal crash on the Thruway yesterday afternoon has not yet been released by State Police.

Troopers have confirmed one person died in the crash reported at 12:13 p.m. in the area of mile marker 396.6 in the westbound lane.

Two passenger vehicles and a tractor-trailer were involved. According to initial reports, a vehicle rolled over, and a person was ejected.

No other injuries were reported by troopers.

A rollover accident is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 396.6 in the westbound lane.

There is possible ejection of an occupant. 

Mercy Flight is on in-air standby.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 12:25 p.m.: A medic on scene reports that Mercy Flight is not required at the scene.

UPDATE 12:40 p.m.: One patient transported to ECMC.

A motor vehicle accident with one car over the guard rail is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 388.5, with unknown injuries.

Town of Batavia Fire and Le Roy Ambulance dispatched.

A motor vehicle accident is reported on the Thruway with injuries at mile maker 393 in the eastbound lane.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched. 

UPDATE 3:44 p.m.: One lane blocked. One patient with a possible leg injury.

The NYS Thruway Authority has taken exception to reporting by The Batavian that the agency had no plan on Dec. 23 when it closed the portion of the I-90 going through Genesee County to route motorists away from the affected storm area.

In a Dec. 29 story about the response of the Oakfield and Alabama fire departments to rescue travelers, The Batavian reported:

The dangers of the storm were exacerbated by a Thruway Authority that shut down the I-90 with no plan to send travelers on safe routes and with Google and Apple map technology ill-equipped to warn drivers of dangerous weather conditions and send them on routes that would take them around the hazardous roads. 

In another story published that same day, we reported:

As hundreds of travelers learned on Friday, their trip on the Thruway would get abruptly cut off when a travel ban was issued and a large portion of the Thruway closed.

Jessica Mazurowski, public information officer for the Thruway cited both of these stories in an email to The Batavian on Thursday, saying she "wanted to make a few points to you about the storm."

Mazurowski wrote:

It’s unclear who is making this statement -- the paper or the County Manager. However, on Friday, when these people were traveling, and the Thruway closed, no one should’ve been traveling. Travel bans were already in effect in Erie and Genesee Counties, as well as surrounding areas. We close or issue travel bans in direct coordination with state and local entities to ensure everyone is on the same page.

All major media outlets across New York were reporting on this storm days in advance. Erie County and Genesee County both issued travel advisories on Thursday, Dec. 22 and upgraded them to travel bans on Friday, Dec. 23. The Thruway Authority announced the commercial vehicle ban on Thursday, Dec. 22 and began messaging on digital highway signs into Pennsylvania, to the Massachusetts state line and down to New York City. Messaging was also on social media, our website, and our mobile app, not just on the commercial vehicle ban but about the severity of the storm and urging motorists not to drive.   When the full vehicle ban was announced on I-90 from exit 46 to the PA state line, the messaging was on digital highway signs statewide and into PA, on social media and our website, and mobile app.

The Batavian's reporting is based on statements from multiple sources, not just County Manager Matt Landers, that the vast majority of people being rescued or seeking shelter in the homes of residents or warming shelters were from out of state and were forced off the Thruway in Genesee County with no idea of the local travel ban, the looming storm, its location, or the hazardous conditions a storm of this magnitude might manifest.

Our sources include other government officials, volunteer firefighters, tow-truck operators, residents who provided shelter, and some of the motorists themselves.

After receiving her email, The Batavian sent multiple questions to Mazurowski and received no response.

We wanted to know, If the Thruway Authority had prior knowledge of the dangers of the storm, why did it take so long to institute a travel ban?  Were travelers provided enough time to exit the Thruway before reaching the hazard zone?

Why was there no signage or traffic control at the Thruway exits to ensure travelers did not head north of the Thruway once they were in Genesee County?  Or was there signage we don't know about, and travelers just ignored it?

Our story stated the TA had no plan to deal with the unsafe conditions for travelers before dumping motorists off the I-90 onto rural roads.  We wrote to her, "Nothing in your response indicates the TA did, in fact, did have a plan in place to ensure the safety of travelers once they exited the Thruway." 

We noted to Mazurowski that it is unrealistic to expect all travelers to be aware of weather conditions, travel bans, or have familiarity with blizzards and lake effect snow (several sources told The Batavian, in fact, that many travelers had never encountered conditions such as they saw in Oakfield and Alabama on Friday and Saturday).

Motorists and passengers may not have tuned into terrestrial radio or have downloaded the appropriate apps to receive alerts. 

We asked, "Is it reasonable for the TA to assume that ALL travelers were aware of the hazards ahead?  Shouldn't it be foreseeable by the TA that some percentage of travelers will be unaware and unprepared, or engage in a blind unwillingness to listen to good advice?  Shouldn't the TA take precautions to help protect people from their own lack of knowledge and experience?"

We concluded, "So the question remains, what was the TA's plan to route travelers off the i-90 to safe locations?"

We followed up with Mazurowski on Friday and received a response that she was out of the office and to direct any questions to the general email address for the public information office.  We did. And still did not receive answers to these questions.

Press release:

TRAVEL ALERT - ALL VEHICLE BAN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: Due the high wind, winter storm, and blizzard warnings in Western New York, a BAN ON ALL VEHICLES is in effect on I-90 from exit 46 (Henrietta) to the PA line and I-190 from I-90 to exit 22 (Route 62) until further notice. See real-time traffic cameras at thruway.ny.gov/travelers.

A vehicle fire is reported following a collision between a tractor-trailer and a passenger car.

Both occupants are out of the car.

A chief approaching reports heavy black smoke.

The Thruway is blocked.

Pembroke and Indian Falls initially dispatched with mutual aid from Corfu but the location now appears to be in East Pembroke's district, so an East Pembroke chief dispatched.

UPDATE 12:28 p.m.: The westbound Thruway is going to be "shut down for a while," a chief advises. There is also a large fuel spill. The Thruway is asked to assist with traffic control.  The accident may involve two trucks. One truck is "burned off" and whatever fuel was there is gone "but I don't know how much has gone down into the ditch," says a chief.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.  Two semi-trucks were involved, no passenger vehicle. One driver transported to an area hospital for evaluation. The burned out truck was hauling bags of soup.

Photos by Jim Reinhardt, except bottom photo.

Photo submitted by Marge Behl.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 397.8 of the Thruway in the eastbound lane.

Multiple injuries reported.

Traffic is backing up.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A five-car accident with injuries is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 404.7, Pembroke in the westbound lane.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

There is a second call, a medical call, in the district at the same time and Le Roy Ambulance is requested to respond.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: One caller reports a person is trapped.  Mercy Flight out of Olean is on ground standby.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: Alabama requested to respond to the high school.

UPDATE 2:08 p.m.: Thruway westbound is totally stopped, according to a first responder.

UPDATE 2:09 p.m.: Alabama is setting up a landing zone.  A chief on scene now reports, however, that it's only a two-vehicle accident, three injuries, no entrapment.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: Mercy Flight was en route but is canceled.

Two people were killed in a motor vehicle accident on the New York State Thruway on Sunday evening when a truck they were in left the roadway and struck the Slusser Road Bridge in the Town of Pembroke.

Pronounced dead at the scene were Thomas T. Cartmel, 64, of Crossville, Ala., and Deborah J. Burelli, 67, of Rochester. 

The accident was reported before 6 p.m.

According to State Police Cartmel and Burelli were in a 2014 Dodge Ram 3500 truck pulling a trailer in the westbound lane of the I-90.  The truck left the roadway on the right shoulder and drove through a grassy area and then struck the bridge.  The trailer became detached and came to rest vertically against the overpass.

A Genesee County coroner pronounced both occupants dead at the scene. Their bodies were transported to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing and being conducted by the NYSP Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service

Traffic has been shut down on the Thruway of a possible serious-injury accident in East Pembroke near Slusser Road.

A semi-truck has gone off the roadway and a pickup truck may have struck a bridge.

There is possible entrapment. 

UPDATE 6:17 p.m.: Town of Batavia's rescue requested to the Thruway to assist East Pembroke.  Corfu requested to standby in quarters to cover East Pembroke calls.

Following a collision with a tractor-trailer, a car careened into the woods, according to at least one caller into emergency dispatch in the area of mile marker 380.1 in the eastbound lane of the Thruway.

Unknown injuries.

The location is four-tenths of a mile east of the West Bergen Road overpass.

Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 5:38 p.m.: A first responder reports, one vehicle to check out, no tractor-trailer involved.

A car is off the roadway and into the trees on the Thruway near mile marker 395.5 in the eastbound direction of travel.

An occupant has a complaint of head pain. Extrication is needed.

Mercy Flight is on ground standby.

East Pembroke Fire along Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: A second accident is reported at mile marker 396.4 eastbound, involving two vehicles with a rollover.  East Pembroke and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 1:32 p.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls dispatched to the second accident.  East Pembroke's chief at the first scene reports, "we're going to be at this one for some time with extrication."

UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls clearing the scene, holding all equipment in quarters.

A pickup truck and a semi-truck have collided on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 400.7, in Pembroke.

There are possibly two injuries, a head injury and an arm injury.

The pickup truck came to rest in the woods.  The semi-truck is off the roadway.

Traffic is not blocked.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments responding along with Mercy EMS.

UPDATE 4:39 p.m.: Two ambulances required. One injury is minor.  There is a person in the pickup truck being evaluated.

UPDATE 5:47 p.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service.

Press release:

On Thursday, March 17, 2022, at approximately 6:38 p.m., State Police responded to a report of a serious injury crash on I-90 westbound in the town of Batavia, Genesee County.

The crash occurred in the area of mile marker 389.7, between the Le Roy and Batavia exits.  

A preliminary investigation determined the crash involved a tractor-trailer and an SUV.  As a result of the collision, the SUV became fully engulfed in flames.  One individual was flown to the hospital by Medicac with life-threatening injuries and two others were transported by ambulance for serious injuries. 

All westbound lanes are currently closed.  Traffic is being diverted at exit 47 (Le Roy) until accident reconstruction has been completed.  

More information will be released when it becomes available.  

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service

A truck hauling an as-yet-unidentified fluid has rolled over on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 381.1 in the westbound lane.

There is a leak.

The driver is out and walking around but may have sustained a shoulder injury.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 2:27 p.m.: Stafford to stand in at Town of Batavia Station #2 and Oakfield to stand in at Town of Batavia Station #1

UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: Stafford cannot get a crew. Standing down.

A motor vehicle accident with entrapment is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 384 is reported.

Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance responding.

Town of Batavia Fire requested mutual aid.

UPDATE 1:04 p.m.: One person trapped. Extrication has begun.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: Patient extricated.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: All units back in service.

A fully involved tractor-trailer fire is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 384 in the westbound lane.

Le Roy Fire is on scene.

The cargo is unknown at this time. 

Dispatchers received multiple calls about the fire.

UPDATE 12:46 p.m.: Town of Batavia requested to the scene.

UPDATE 12:54 p.m: Batavia and Bergen can go back in service. Fire is knocked down.