Toddler, woman die in Dewey Ave. crash

A driver who apparently was fleeing police by careening along on the wrong side of the road in bad weather conditions caused a two-vehicle crash that left a young boy and a woman dead Friday night on Rochester's west side.

A Greece police official had tried to pull over the driver 12 blocks north of the accident site in connection with a shoplifting complaint, but the motorist raced off and the officer chose not to pursue him, Greece police said.

The crash occurred at 10 p.m. at 1196 Dewey Avenue, across the street from Aquinas Institute, where Dewey intersects with Albemarle Street., Capt. John Corbelli of the Rochester Police Department said

A 2½-year-old boy, who was riding in a 2001 Saturn driven by his mother, died shortly before 11 p.m. after being taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by Rural/Metro Medical Services ambulance, Corbelli said. The boy's mother sustained relatively minor injuries.

A 35-year-old Rochester woman, an occupant of the striking car, died at the scene, Corbelli said. A male occupant of the striking car, a 2013 Toyota Camry, suffered life-threatening injuries and is being treated at Strong.

Names of the four persons involved in the crash have not been released.

The occupants of the Camry were being sought by Greece police in connection with a larceny complaint at the Walmart store in Northgate Plaza in Greece. Security there described the suspect vehicle to a passing Greece patrol officer and told him it had headed south on Dewey.

The officer drove more than 2 ½ miles south on Dewey looking for the car, eventually passing from the town into the city and finally encountering the suspect vehicle stopped in traffic on Dewey at West Ridge Road, the Greece Police Department said in a statement Saturday morning.

"As traffic started up, the officer activated his emergency lights, in an attempt to make a stop of the suspect vehicle," the statement said. "The vehicle cut to the left, passing other cars as it sped off south on Dewey."

The unidentified officer chose not to pursue the Camry and shut off his emergency lights, according to the statement. He made that decision, the statement said, after considering "road conditions at the time, the severity of the crime and the fact that he had obtained a plate number on the suspect vehicle."

The Greece officer advised a radio dispatcher to alert city police to the situation, then turned around and headed north toward the town line, the statement said.

The Camry continued south on Dewey at a high rate of speed, Rochester police investigators believe. Witnesses reported the car driving on the wrong side of the road in a reckless manner in snowy and icy conditions.

As the vehicle passed Seneca Parkway, the striking vehicle lost control, crossed from the southbound lane to the northbound lane, and collided with the Saturn.

The crash scene is 12 blocks, or nine-tenths of a mile, from the point where Greece police said their officer encountered the suspect Camry. There are five traffic signals on Dewey between West Ridge and Albemarle with two lanes of traffic in each direction.

Greece Police Capt. Brian Uhrmacher said Saturday the officer, whose name he declined to disclose, handled the situation properly.

"We train not only the supervisors but the officers on patrol to weigh several circumstances when becoming involved in a pursuit. This didn't reach the level of being a pursuit, but the officer did consider several of those factors in deciding whether or not to pursue the vehicle

"In my opinion, the officer made a very good decision not to pursue it," Uhrmacher said.

He also said the officer was "well within his rights" to continue his search for the suspects, and to try and pull them over, after crossing into the city.

Shortly after the crash occurred, a Rochester officer was notified by a passing motorist. That officer responded along with Rochester firefighters and Rural/Metro paramedics to assist the occupants of the two vehicles, Corbelli said. Greece officers also responded to the scene.

Rochester police investigators, with assistance from reconstruction technicians and the New York State Police, processed the scene overnight. The area was open to traffic Saturday morning.

Uhrmacher said two bad choices led to the double-fatal crash.

"These people apparently made a decision to go to the Walmart store and commit a crime there. When our officer attempted to stop them, a decision was made … not to stop for the officer," he said. "As a result we've got a tragic situation. It's a tragedy any time of the year, but we've got several families that are going to be affected during the holiday season."