LEWISTON — Town of Lewiston police say their investigation into a fatal one-car crash early Sunday morning will likely take a number of weeks as they await the results of forensic and other testing.
Police Capt. Mike Salada said investigators are downloading information from the black box on board the heavily damaged Ford Escape that was involved in the crash. They are also waiting on the results of toxicology testing performed on the driver of the vehicle.
Lewiston police are consulting with the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office and charges may be pending based on the results of that testing.
Police and emergency rescue crews responded to the crash at the intersection of Upper Mountain and Walmore roads on the Tuscarora Reservation around 12:35 a.m. Sunday. Initial reports indicated that a vehicle had left the roadway at a high rate of speed.
First responders said they located the twisted wreckage of the SUV about 200 feet off the roadway, in a heavily-wooded area. Police said there were two passengers in the car, in addition to the driver at the time of the crash. One passenger, a 27-year-old male, was ejected from the vehicle following the impact of the crash.
The driver, a 19-year-old female and a second passenger, a 21-year-old male were located inside the SUV. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.
The ejected passenger was airlifted by Mercy Flight to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. On Monday afternoon he was listed in stable condition.
The driver was transported by ambulance to ECMC and is also listed in stable condition.
Lewiston police are being assisted in their investigation by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Accident Investigation Unit (AIU).