Man dies in Route 63 accident in refuge

Posted 26 December 2013 at 2:15 pm

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department

SHELBY – A man is dead and his female passenger hospitalized following a one-vehicle crash in the town of Shelby at about 11:35 a.m. today.

The incident occurred on South Gravel Road (State Route 63) between Oak Orchard Ridge Road and the Genesee-Orleans County Line in the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

The vehicle was travelling south on Rt. 63 when the driver apparently lost control.  The vehicle crossed the center line, ran off the east side of the roadway, and overturned before coming to rest upside down in flooded swampland.

A Shelby Fire Department pumper was utilized to drag the vehicle out of the water and back onto the roadway.  Both occupants were extricated by firefighters and transported by ground ambulances to Medina Memorial Hospital.

The man was pronounced dead at 12:31 p.m.  The female passenger is currently being treated.  Names are being withheld pending next-of-kin notifications.

Deputy J.W. Halstead responded to the incident. He was assisted by Sergeants D.W. Covis and G.T. Gunkler, and Investigator C.L. Black.  State Troopers stationed at both Albion and Batavia also assisted at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.