By Helen Jones and Dan Herbeck
The Buffalo News
RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. — Two young people were killed Saturday when a car full of teenagers careened out of control and crashed into some trees off Youngstown-Lockport Road.
Speed appears to have been a factor in the crash, and charges against the driver are expected, officials of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday evening.
The two were identified as Taylor Messing, 17, of Niagara Falls, and Jeremy Campbell, 19, of Youngstown. Both were rear-seat passengers, authorities said.
The driver, John Schmitz, 19, of Ransomville, was listed in stable condition in Erie County Medical Center. Keith Burns, 17, also of Ransomville, is listed in stable condition in ECMC. An unidentified 15-year-old girl was treated in ECMC and released.
“It was a horrible tragedy,” said Cindy-Lou Joyce, a Niagara County coroner. “My prayers go out to both of these families.” At least one of the injured victims is a teenage male who lives near the crash site, and all the others are believed to be from Niagara County.
“This is a really bad road,” said a shaken Bonnie Balch, who lives close to the crash site and tried to help the victims after the 12:30 p.m. crash.
She and other neighbors said many vehicles, including tractor-trailers, often speed down the road, which is also known as Route 93. The crash occurred in a residential area of Ransomville, a rural hamlet within the Town of Porter, Niagara County.
“Route 93 is very dangerous in this neighborhood,” said Rechelle Frerichs, who also lives near the crash scene and tried to help the young victims. “Cars come flying through here all the time. The speed limit is 55, but a lot of people go way faster.”
According to a report issued by the Sheriff’s Office, the car involved was traveling westbound on Youngstown-Lockport Road, near the intersection of Dickersonville Road, when the driver lost control.
Deputies said the car swerved to avoid another vehicle that was stopped to turn left toward a parking area at the Baker Farms produce stand.
The vehicle carrying the victims went off the road onto a residential lawn and struck several shrubs and rocks before hitting two trees, deputies said.
“It was a very upsetting scene. It messes with your head,” said Frerichs, 30, who rushed out of her home after hearing the crash.
Frerichs said the teens in the car were bleeding and in shock. One of the male passengers had a badly shattered elbow, and she helped him out of the car.
“The girl who died I tried to take her pulse, but there was nothing. Her lips were blue. I could see that she was gone,” Frerichs said. “I could only think, ‘These kids could be loved ones from my family.’ I can only imagine what their parents are going through.”
While Frerichs did not see the crash, she worries that her 4-year-old son may have witnessed it.
The boy was looking out the window when the crash occurred, and he told his mother, “Mommy, that car hit the tree.”
Another neighbor, Robert Boos, said the crash was so loud that his wife told him she thought a tornado had just torn their tree out of the ground.
Deputies said that when the vehicle swerved, it first veered off the right side of the road, then re-entered the road and veered off the road on the left side. The car then traveled about 200 feet before hitting the two trees.
The two people who died were transported to the Erie County Medical Examiner’s office for autopsies. The three survivors were being treated at area hospitals, and none of their injuries were believed to be life-threatening.
Rural/Metro ambulances and Mercy Flight transported the injured victims.
The investigation is continuing.
Niagara Reporter Aaron Besecker contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Buffalo News
All Rights Reserved