NYS Trooper Off Duty Death - Oct 12, 2006

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Reprinted from 1stresponder.com

NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. - The western New York’s famous lake effect snow bands again showed their power and fury. The snow belts mixed with extreme moisture blanketed the area with heavy wet snow on Thurs. Oct. 12. Throughout the night hundreds of calls came in all across Niagara County for trees down in the road, power lines on fire, power outages, and a few minor injury accidents.

Niagara County's 30 plus fire companies had manpower standing by responding to call after call throughout the night and early morning.

On Friday, a little after 10 a.m., a 911 cell phone call reported a head-on accident between a tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle. Wrights Corners volunteers were notified and en route right away to the 5000 block of Ridge Road by Coomer Road.

Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies responded also. First on scene deputies requested the supervisor and ID. Wrights Corners requested a level four from Newfane, and Rural Metro Paramedic Fly car was also en route. They had a passenger car crushed by a fully loaded semi that pushed the car hundreds of feet off the road and into a field. Two victims were seriously entrapped with major trauma injuries, and the semi was hindering the extrication.

An eyewitness said the snow was falling so hard you could hardly see and that the roads were slippery at the time of the accident. It appeared that the car veered into the path of the tractor trailer and was crushed off the road into a field.

The eyewitness said he called 911 and then rushed to the victims. He said that they were trapped in the car. The dashboard was pushed down on their lower extremities. He talked to both and covered them up with what he had to keep them warm and waited for the emergency service personnel to arrive.

Wrights Cornors equipment arrived on scene within minutes and started an organized extrication effort and also provided emergency medical care to the victims.

Hard as the first responders tried and with the best use of the extrication equipment and advance life support, one of the victims in the car, an off-duty New York State Trooper, succumbed during the rescue efforts.

Niagara County Sheriff’s Captain B. Elliot had the task of notifying the chain of command. Everyone at the scene hearing that it was a New York State Trooper stood in shock.

The New York State Police have suffered such losses this year and now they have lost another. The surviving victim was extricated and rushed to Newfane Hospital to be stabilized.

It was felt that he could not make the trip to the Trauma Center by ground and the weather grounded Mercy Flight's air trauma helicopter.

Supervisors from the New York State Troopers started arriving at the scene and were filled in about the accident by the Sheriff’s Department. The driver of the truck was shaken up, but did not appear to have any serious injuries. The accident is under investigation.

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Trooper Michael C. Anders, 33, had been a New York State Trooper for three years and was most recently assigned to SP Lyons in Troop E.

Thoughts and Prayers to the family of the New York State Trooper, Friends, and Co-Workers. May he Rest In Peace.