Police say a Rochester teenager was killed Friday in a collision between a car and a tanker truck at the intersection of Turnpike Road and North Street Road in Sennett, just north of the city of Auburn.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Workers drain a fuel from an overturned truck after a fatal crash Friday at the intersection of Turnpike Road and Route 34 in Sennett.
Workers drain a fuel from an overturned truck after a fatal crash Friday at the intersection of Turnpike Road and Route 34 in Sennett.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said that the truck, from Alnye Trucking of Moravia, was traveling south on Route 34 at about 2 p.m. Friday when a 1993 Mercury Sable that had been heading east pulled into the path of the truck from Turnpike Road.
The driver of the car, Daniel Slater, 18, of Rochester, was killed.
Both vehicles ended up in a ditch on the east side of Route 34, and the truck toppled onto its side.
Police said that the truck was carrying home-heating fuel, but that none of the fuel spilled. A second Alnye truck was sent to the accident scene so that the fuel could be removed from the overturned truck before it could be uprighted.
The truck driver, David J. Crawford, 52, of Moravia, was not injured, police said.
Route 34, also North Street Road in that area, was closed to all traffic between Turnpike Road and Potter Road for several hours after the accident.
The circumstances of the crash appear to be nearly identical to an accident in August that claimed the lives of two elderly Syracuse women.
On Aug. 16, a car traveling on Turnpike Road crossed into the path of a northbound tractor trailer at the same intersection. The truck driver was unable to stop and hit the car broadside. The truck left about 40 feet of skid marks before coming to rest with the smashed car still against its bumper.
In an effort to increase safety there, the state Department of Transportation reconstructed the intersection in 2001 so that the roads now meet at a 90-degree angle. The intersection is also several hundred feet further south than it once was because it had been closer to a hill that interfered with drivers' line of sight.
The $1.14 million reconfiguration was approved after the DOT recognized 18 accidents at the intersection in a three-year period prior to 2001.
In addition to the sheriff's office and the Sennett Fire Department, police said that members of the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office, the Auburn Fire Department HAZMAT, Auburn Police Department and state police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement assisted at the scene of Friday's crash.
The driver of the car, Daniel Slater, 18, of Rochester, was killed.
Both vehicles ended up in a ditch on the east side of Route 34, and the truck toppled onto its side.
Police said that the truck was carrying home-heating fuel, but that none of the fuel spilled. A second Alnye truck was sent to the accident scene so that the fuel could be removed from the overturned truck before it could be uprighted.
The truck driver, David J. Crawford, 52, of Moravia, was not injured, police said.
Route 34, also North Street Road in that area, was closed to all traffic between Turnpike Road and Potter Road for several hours after the accident.
The circumstances of the crash appear to be nearly identical to an accident in August that claimed the lives of two elderly Syracuse women.
On Aug. 16, a car traveling on Turnpike Road crossed into the path of a northbound tractor trailer at the same intersection. The truck driver was unable to stop and hit the car broadside. The truck left about 40 feet of skid marks before coming to rest with the smashed car still against its bumper.
In an effort to increase safety there, the state Department of Transportation reconstructed the intersection in 2001 so that the roads now meet at a 90-degree angle. The intersection is also several hundred feet further south than it once was because it had been closer to a hill that interfered with drivers' line of sight.
The $1.14 million reconfiguration was approved after the DOT recognized 18 accidents at the intersection in a three-year period prior to 2001.
In addition to the sheriff's office and the Sennett Fire Department, police said that members of the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office, the Auburn Fire Department HAZMAT, Auburn Police Department and state police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement assisted at the scene of Friday's crash.
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wdsportcvlian wrote on Oct 11, 2009 9:32 AM:
as someone who travels that road daily to and from work, going through in all directions at different times, I can testify that people just ARE NOT PATIENT on the Turnpike sides and will take very unnecessary chances to get onto or across Rte 34. I have had cars pull out in front of me nearly causing a collision, but when I look in my rear view mirror afterward, the road is clear for a quarter mile back with nobody coming in the other direction either. Why pull in front of me then? Five more seconds of their time could prevent near fatalities at worst. Fortunately I am one of those drivers who acts like everyone is out to hit me at that intersection and I tend to get a very good look at people's faces to see if they are even looking at me or are going to jump out recklessly. What a shame the innocent passengers have to lose their lives though. A good point....and a very expensive remedy....a bridge that carries traffic over Rte 34. Problem is the slip ramps to enter and exit would have to be installed, and the entrance ramps would create the same problem. You still have to ENTER the road SAFELY!!! And because slip ramps are usually fitted with Yield signs, what a mess that could be. So it leaves the only solution on the hands of the drivers entering or crossing Rte 34. WAIT YOUR TURN and for God's sake, be patient and don't take chances!! Then if an accident does occur once in a great while there, it would hopefully be truly an accident and not an act of stupidity, impatience or ignorance.
Let's face it, the signs are there on both sides of Turnpike. They are not exclusive only to our area. They are used throughout the U.S.
So obeying simple traffic law would prevent some if not most of the accidents at this particular intersection. Too bad so many learn such a fatal lesson though. "
crazybabes wrote on Oct 11, 2009 1:18 AM:
gkenn99 wrote on Oct 10, 2009 9:01 PM:
Unknown... wrote on Oct 10, 2009 12:43 PM:
freedomofspeech wrote on Oct 10, 2009 11:36 AM:
Just a thought. "