thruway

A grass fire has been reported in the area of mile marker 387, westbound lane, on the Thruway.

Town of Batavia Fire has been dispatched.

UPDATE 11:12 a.m.: Dispatch has received only one call on the fire. It's believed to be a small one, possibly started by a truck tire retread that came off and landed in the grass.

UPDATE 11:14 a.m.: An assistant chief has checked the Thruway and is unable to find any fire. In an unrelated incident, dispatch has also received calls about a large column of smoke behind Bj's Wholesale Club on Lewiston Road. It is a controlled burn.

UPDATE 11:16 a.m.: The controlled burn apparently has smoke drifting as far as the dispatch center on Park Road. It's been going all night and there was reportedly ash falling on West Main Street last night.

UPDATE 2:16 p.m.:  Earlier, Town of Batavia extinquished the fire. Now they're being called back to the scene.

A car fire is reported on the New York State Thruway near Le Roy.

The blaze is located near mile marker 382 in the westbound lane. Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance have both been dispatched to the scene.

A car fire was reported on the Thruway -- the car was being towed by an RV.

The RV driver was reportedly initially unaware of the fire.  He under did eventually pull over at the Batavia off-ramp.

An assistant chief from the Le Roy Fire Department was in the area and heard Town of Batavia Fire being dispatched. He responded and knocked down the fire, which was reportedly under the car.

The motorhome was reportedly traveling along the Thruway for some time with the driver apparently unaware of the car fire.

There is a reported extension of the fire into the console. The vehicle has been disconnected from the motorhome.

A rollover accident on the Thruway at 2:48 p.m., yesterday, sent all five people in the GMC Jimmy to Erie County hospitals, two by Mercy Flight, with one person still listed in critical condition at ECMC.

The SUV was driven by Lorriann Mingle, 44, of Depew. Mingle apparently swerved to avoid an unidentified car coming into her lane of travel. When she tried to move back into her lane, she over corrected, according to State Police, and when her tires hit the soft shoulder, the car flipped over.

Her front seat passenger, Dawn Hess, 40, of Palmyra, suffered a head injury, broken ribs and a broken arm.

Hess is listed in critical condition.

Mingle suffered cuts and abrasions and was treated and released at ECMC.

The Thruway was closed in both directions for 30 minutes while Mingle and Hess were picked up by Mercy Flight.

Three children in the back seat were transported to Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo for evaluation of minor injuries. Their names were not released.

All five people were wearing their seat belts properly, according to State Police.

The driver of the other vehicle has not been identified and no charges are pending.

(initial report)

Somebody reportedly forgot to put down the bed of a dump truck after it dumped its load at a construction site on the Thruway in Pembroke last night, according to State Police.

The driver of the truck, Sandra Palmer, 43, of Tonawanda, then proceeded West on the Thruway. Two miles later, the open bed of the truck struck the overpass of Route 77, causing the truck to rollover.

An emergency responder described the truck shortly after the 10:30 p.m. accident as "pretty well demolished."

The eastbound lane was shut down to set up a landing zone for Mercy Flight and Palmer was airlifted to Erie County Medical Center, where she is listed in fair condition this morning.

The truck was owned by Mallarie Entprises, Inc., out of Amherst.

An I-beam of the bridge was damaged, but a damage estimate was not available this morning.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident has been reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 400 in the westbound lane.

Pembroke and Indian Falls Fire and Mercy EMS are being dispatched.

UPDATE 10:33 p.m.: The tractor-trailer is upside down, "pretty well demolished," under the Route 77 overpass. No other vehicles apparently involved. There is road construction in the area and construction workers were attempting to make contact with the driver.

UPDATE 10:36 p.m.: It's not a tractor-trailer. It's a dump truck. Mercy Flight requested to the scene. Dispatch reports Mercy Flight was started as soon as the call came in. A fire chief reports smoke coming from the engine.

UPDATE 10:39 p.m.: The westbound lane is being shut down to create a landing zone for Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 10:50 p.m.: Mercy Flight landed.

UPDATE 11:06 p.m.: Mercy Flight is in the air.

A 49-year-old truck driver from Decatur, Ala. was killed in an early morning crash on the Thruway just east of the Le Roy exit.

State Police investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the one-vehicle accident that took the life of Freddie R. Hatfield.

Hatfield was reportedly seen driving erratically before his truck veered off the roadway and into a line of trees 50 feet from the shoulder, where his truck burst into flames.

"It could have been a medical issue or he may have simply fell asleep,"  State Police Capt.  Michael Nigrelli told WBTA.

No other vehicles were involved.

Le Roy Fire responded to the scene of the 6 a.m. crash to handle the accident and the fire, which was just over the Genesee County line.

Hatfield was hauling building material from Ohio to Gates, driving for Crete Carriers of Lincoln, Neb.

Route 77 at the Thruway is apparently blocked following a traffic accident involving a tractor trailer.

At least one person suffered minor injuries.

Pembroke and Indian Falls Fire are responding as well as Mercy EMS.

There's a report of "quite a bit of liquids leaking."

A tractor trailer vs. car accident has been reported in the area of mile marker 378.5 on the Thruway.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance are being dispatched.

UPDATE 7:50 p.m.: The fuel tanks on the truck are leaking, and are full. No word on injuries.

A truck driver who was reportedly looking at porn on a laptop computer prior to slamming his truck into a disabled car on the Thruway in Pembroke pled guilty today to manslaughter.

The Dec. 12 accident took the life of a mother from Snyder, 33-year-old Julie Stratton.

Thomas M. Wallace, 45, of Brook Park, Ohio, could face up to 15 years in prison.

More from the Buffalo News, including video.

State Police have four people on the ground and in handcuffs on the Thruway just east of the Route 33 overpass.

A witness said he saw multiple law enforcement vehicles heading to the scene at an exceptionally high rate of speed. He also said the State Police helicopter was flying low over the Thruway toward the scene.

When we arrived, there were 11 law enforcement vehicles on scene, with six of them being unmarked. A flatbed truck was hooking up a black sedan that had its trunk open.  

Eastbound traffic in the area slowed quite a bit, though was not significantly backing up.

UPDATE (Billie Owens): I heard the scanner when this call came in. The dispatcher said a black sedan (I forget the make/model) with four asian males was eastbound on the thruway after allegedly driving away from a home-invasion robbery in the Town of Amherst. Either a victim or witness followed the vehicle and alerted law enforcement.

Soon, Gensee County residents could have another convenient location -- and perhaps one of the more logical places -- to buy EZPass for Thruway tolls -- the local DMV office.

On Wednesday, County Clerk Don Read received approval from the Ways and Means Committee (the proposal must also be approved by the full Legislature) to establish a funding mechanism to buy EZPass stickers to resell at the DMV and County Clerk's office.

"We’d like to be the first one in the county where somebody could come in, know they’re traveling this weekend and pick up an EZPass and they can use it immediately," Read said.

The idea started at a meeting of the state's county clerks in Albany, Read said, when the Thruway Authority met with the clerks and offered to allow them to start selling the automatic toll passes.

Getting started takes some effort, according to Read, from getting funding approval -- the passes must be paid for in advance -- to filling out a tightly spaced eight-page application.

If the program doesn't work, though, Read said, the County won't be out any money. Any unsold EZpasses can be returned to the Thruway Authority for a full refund.

A tractor-trailer has apparently had a fuel tank punctured while on the Thruway.

A tie between two tanks ruptured and is gone, according to a chief on scene, and fuel is spilling from both tanks, which have a 120 gallon capacity (they were about half full, the driver said).

Fuel has spilled and "several cars have been contaminated," according to emergency dispatch.

The accident occurred in the area of mile marker 388 in the westbound lane.

Town of Batavia Fire has been dispatched.

UPDATE 5:55 p.m. (Billie): About 20 gallons has leaked out, but the leak is thought to be stopped at this point, according to a fireman.

UPDATE 6:32 p.m.: Crews were about to leave the scene when the tank started leaking again.

An accident has been reported on the eastbound off-ramp, Exit 48, of the Thruway. There are apparently injuries.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire are responding.

UPDATE 5:28 p.m.: Pembroke fire chief reports one victim with a shoulder injury. The patient is trapped in the car, but extrication is not possible until traffic is under control.

A car has reportedly hit a deer on the Thruway at mile marker 379.4.

One person reportedly suffered a head injury and another person is complaining of back pain.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance have been dispatched.

Multiple callers are reporting a car fire in the westbound lane of the Thruway at mile marker 400.

Pembroke and Indian Falls Fire is being dispatched.

One lane of the Batavia Toll Plaza will be closed for pavement repairs until mid-May, according to a news release from the Thruway Authority.

Travelers should plan for delays of up to five minutes.

Lane #3 will be closed.

There may be other delays in the coming weeks as other lanes are periodically closed for concrete removal between toll lanes.

A car is reportedly on fire in the eastbound lane of the Thruway around mile marker 388.

Town of Batavia fire is being dispatched.

The dispatch center has received multiple calls.

UPDATE 3:39 p.m.: A firefighter responding said the smoke can be seen from Bank Street. "It must be going pretty good," he said.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Fire crews are picking up and the Thruway is being reopened.

UPDATE 4:19 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire back in service.

David J. Schultz, 27, of 3124 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Schultz was stopped at 2:32 a.m. on Tuesday by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

John A. Akok, 30, of Hartford, Conn., is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Akok was stopped by State Police on the Thruway in Stafford at 7:42 a.m., Monday.

Isreal A. Amador, 22, of Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt. Amador was picked up at 11:08 a.m., Monday, by State Police in Le Roy at the Thruway exist for allegedly violating an order of protect. No further details available.