Advertisement. Advertise with us

ACCIDENT AT ROUTE 20, 80

CRASH KILLS ONE,

DEPUTY BREAKS

LEGS IN COLLISION

Whoever saw the crumpled red Buick LaCrosse had the same reaction: That was a fatal crash. And it was. (Jennifer Hill/AllOTSEGO.com)

BY JENNIFER HILL • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Matthew McIvor lives next to the Richfield Springs barracks, and witnessed the arguments that resulted in the chase and crash. Then, as an EMT, he was called to the scene.

SPRINGFIELD CENTER – Matthew McIvor saw the whole thing.

At around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at the State Police barracks in Richfield Springs, across the street from his house, “I saw him the woman get into her car, a black Jeep, and the man kept shouting at her,” McIvor said when interview at the subsequent accident at Kelly’s Corners, at Route 20 and 80.

“He banged his fist on her jeep and put a dent on the driver’s side. I called 911 when I saw that.”

Less than half an hour later, that man would be dead, the victim of a head-on collision following a high-speed chase that ended when his red Buick Lacrosse ran into an Otsego County Sheriff’s cruiser, injuring Deputy James Mateunas.

According to Trooper Aga Dembinska, Troop C spokesman, the man in a car who had been accused of harassing, then threatening a woman with a knife. When troopers approached, he fled and officers pursued him east on Route 20.

As the fleeing car approached Route 20’s intersection with 80, Mateunas’ cruisher was parked, facing west with its lights flashing.  The fleeing man’s car ran head-on into the cruiser, Dembinska said.

Coroner Michael Fox pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.

A trooper examines Deputy Mateunas’ cruiser, when the Buick LaCrosse rammed into it head-on.

McIvor was inadvertently drawn in to the drama.  An EMS with the Richfield Springs Fire Department, he was paged at 2:44 p.m. to go to the crash in Springfield Center.  “I knew that page had to do with what I saw at the barracks,” he said.

At the crash site, McIvor learned the escaping car had gone up to 115 mph.

Also at the scene, Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. said that Mateunas suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to Bassett Hospital and admitted for surgery.

He “suffered multiple fractures to his lower extremities,” said Devlin.

The suspect’s name has not yet been released. The woman has been identified as Robin Church.

McIvor did not know whether or not Church and the man knew each other.

“He was not her husband,” McIvor said, “because her husband called 911 seven minutes after I did.”

McIvor said he is a reporter for Automotive Press and reports on crash impacts, among other car topics.  He said he is planning to attend the 2019 Virginia Highway Safety Summit in Roanoke tomorrow, at which he will learn about crash investigations.

Posted

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

SCOLINOS: It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide

COLUMN VIEW FROM THE GAME It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide Editor’s Note:  Tim Mead, incoming Baseball Hall of Fame president, cited John Scolinos, baseball coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona, as a lifelong inspiration, particularly Scolinos’ famous speech “17 Inches.” Chris Sperry, who published sperrybaseballlife.com, heard Scolinos deliver a version in 1996 at the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, and wrote this reminiscence in 1916 in his “Baseball Thoughts” column. By CHRIS SPERRY • from www.sperrybaseballlife.com In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching…

Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told

CLICK HERE FOR MEMO TO SCHOOLS Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told COOPERSTOWN – In a memo released Friday evening, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond advised local school superintendents that sports can resume as early as Monday. “Effective Feb. 1, participants in higher-risk sports may participate in individual or distanced group training and organized no/low-contact group training,” Bond wrote, “…including competitions and tournaments, if permitted by local health authorities.”…

Piper Seamon Scores 1,000th point

1,000 THANKS! Piper Seamon 5th CCS Girl To Hit High Mark The Cooperstown Central student section erupts as Piper Seamon scores her 1,000th career point in the Hawkeyes’ 57-39 win over Waterville at home last evening. Seamon becomes the fifth girl and only the 14th player in school history overall to score 1,000 points.  Inset at right, Pipershares a hug with teammate Meagan Schuermann after the game was stopped to acknowledge her achievement. Seamon will play basketball next year at Hamilton College. (Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)  …

Putting the Community Back Into the Newspaper

Now through March 30, new annual subscribers to “The Freeman’s Journal” and AllOtsego.com (or subscribers who have lapsed for two or more years) have an opportunity to help their choice of one of four Otsego County charitable organizations.

$5.00 of your subscription will be donated to the nonprofit of your choice:

Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, Cooperstown Food Pantry, Greater Oneonta Historical Society or Super Heroes Humane Society.