Driver who went airborne taken by Mercy Flight following crash in Albion

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The driver of Hummer going at a high rate of speed hit another vehicle on Route 98 near the 5 corners and then went airborne, flipping in the air at least once, before hitting a tree and coming to a stop near an embankment.

This vehicle was hit by the Hummer. The driver appeared uninjured and was talking with Orleans County deputies at the scene.

The driver of the Hummer survived the crash and was taken by Mercy Flight helicopter after being extricated by Albion firefighters. The accident was just south of Bacon Road near the intersection with Route 279.

Albion firefighters and personnel from Central Orleans Voluneer Ambulance work to get the driver extricated from the Hummer. He was transported by COVA to a landing zone for Mercy Flight at the Christian Missionary Alliance Church. Dale Banker, director of Emergency Management for Orleans County, is pictured in red.

Shelly Smith has lived at the 5 corners for 14 years. She said there are typically two serious accidents at the intersection each year. Many of those vehicles have ended up in her yard.

She saw the accident today, and watched the Hummer go airborne and flip over at least once in the air. The vehicle bounced into a tree, ripping the bark off about 20 feet up the tree.

“I have never seen anything like it,” she said.

Pieces of the Hummer were all over her yard.

“This is the worst I have ever seen,” she said. “I’ve never seen a car catapult.”

This photo shows where the Hummer took some of the bark off a tree.

The accident remains under investigation. The name of the driver of Hummer hasn’t been released. He was conversing with COVA personnel and Albion firefighters at the scene.

Mercy Flight takes off by the Christian Missionary Alliance Church.