Man dies in Shelby car accident

Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steven Smith

SHELBY – A man is dead following a one-car motor vehicle accident Thursday night in the Town of Shelby.

The incident was reported at about 9:45 p.m., in the 12400 block of Podunk Road, just east of East Shelby Road. Passers-by observed a vehicle off the south side of the roadway and called 9-1-1. Those same individuals removed the driver (sole occupant) from the vehicle and attempted life-saving measures prior to the arrival of EMS personnel.

Upon investigation, it was determined that the mid-size sedan had been travelling west on Podunk Rd., when the driver apparently lost control. The vehicle crossed the center line and ran off the south side of the roadway. It continued approximately 165 feet before coming to rest and partially submerged in about 3 feet of marshland and about 50 feet off the roadway. The incident scene is less than ¼ mile from the Genesee-Orleans County Line.

The driver was transported by Medina FD ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:38 p.m.  Orleans County Coroner Charles Smith was notified and the deceased was taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester for autopsy.  His identity is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

The on-scene investigation was conducted by Deputy T.N. Tooley, assisted by Deputy T.C. Marano, Deputy J.J. Cole, Sergeant G.T. Gunkler, and Chief Deputy T.L. Drennan.  Deputies were also assisted by the East Shelby Fire Department and Lyon’s Collision Service.

The investigation will continue in an effort to determine what factor(s) contributed to the crash.