SPARTA — Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty advises of a fatal motor vehicle crash and house fire that occurred in the Town of Sparta.
On Sept. 11 at approximately 7:42 a.m., Livingston County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the area of Culbertson Road and Harter Road in the Town of Sparta for the report of two dump trucks that had collided and crashed into a nearby house.
Sheriff’s Deputies and Dansville Police Department Officers arrived on scene and confirmed that the dump trucks had crashed into a residence and the residence was now fully engulfed in flames.
Additional first responders arrived on scene and were able to ascertain that there was a female unaccounted for from inside the residence.
Fire personnel from numerous agencies worked diligently to manage the fire, as EMS tended to the operators of the dump trucks.
The operators of the dump trucks were later transported to Strong Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The preliminary investigation revealed that one of the dump trucks experienced a mechanical issue, which caused the truck to lose its brakes while traveling west down Harter Road.
The mechanical issue ultimately caused the trucks to collide and crash into the residence located at 9128 Culbertson Road, which then caught on fire.
It was determined on scene that each dump truck was hauling about 20 tons of asphalt from Honeoye Falls to the Town of North Dansville.
The female was later located inside the home deceased and identified as 89-year-old, Isabell F. Erwin from that residence.
The investigation into the death and motor vehicle crash is still on-going at this time.
Investigating for the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office were members of the Command Staff, Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, Forensic Identification Unit, Drone Unit, and Commercial Vehicle Unit.
Assisting at the scene was the Dansville Police Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Police, Livingston County Office of Emergency Management, Dansville EMS, Livingston County EMS, Sparta Center Fire Department, Dansville Fire Department, Groveland Fire Department, Nunda Fire Department, Springwater Fire Department, Wayland Fire Department, Geneseo Fire Department, and the Livingston County Coroner’s Office.
