(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/@CFORTIZ_DANDC/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Passenger in deadly crash in guarded; investigation ongoing
Meaghan M. McDermott, Victoria E. Freile and Olivia Lopez, @Olopez4 10:14 a.m. EDT June 30, 2016
Wednesday’s deadly crash on Interstate 490 near St. John Fisher College marks the third such incident related to a police pursuit in Monroe County since 2007.
Deputies from Ontario and Monroe counties on Thursday continue to investigate the high-speed crash and the circumstances that led to a brief pursuit minutes before the fatal collision. No charges have been filed.
"We're still trying to piece this together," Povero said.
Police say the short chase that preceded the crash stemmed from a shoplifting incident at a CVS Pharmacy in Farmington, Ontario County, that occurred just before 11 a.m. Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said deputies were still working to determine what items were stolen from the store.
An Ontario County sheriff’s deputy on I-490 near the Thruway saw a Volkswagen Jetta matching the description of a suspect vehicle from the larceny drive by and followed the car into Monroe County.
Deputies identified the man killed in the crash as Noah Marinelli, 33, of Canandaigua. Marinelli, who was driving the Jetta, died at the scene. His passenger, Danielle Golding, 31, of Utica, Oneida County, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight with serious injuries.
She was listed in guarded condition Thursday morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Povero said the driver of the suspect vehicle sped up, reaching a “point where the deputy — following departmental protocols — backed off on the chase and the vehicle left his sight.”
The Democrat and Chronicle has filed a Freedom of Information request with Ontario County for its policies related to police pursuits. The documents were not immediately provided.
Police chase ends with one dead, one injured on I-490 at Exit 25 Wednesday, June 29, 2016. (Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/@CFORTIZ_DANDC/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
About 8 miles beyond where I-490 and the Thruway meet, police believe, the driver of the vehicle lost control, struck the median and crossed over the three westbound lanes and struck a guiderail before coming to rest in a grassy ditch by the exit lanes for Route 31F.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cpl. John Helfer said both were thrown from the vehicle, with Marinelli traveling "approximately 150 feet into the woods." Golding was thrown 10 feet from the Jetta.
Helfer said accident reconstruction specialists will work to determine the vehicle's precise speed at the time of impact. On Thursday he said it was clear that speed was a factor in the crash.
"It appears that the Jetta flipped end over end before coming to rest," Helfer said.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Marinelli had a history of misdemeanor arrests dating back to 2012. Ontario County sheriff's deputies declined to comment on his arrest history.
High-speed police chases have been a subject of national controversy in recent years. Such pursuits across the country have been connected to the deaths of at least 2,456 innocent bystanders and another 2,582 people who were passengers in fleeing cars from 1979 through 2013. The total number of deaths is 11,506.
Locally, police officials say there’s been a focus on implementing best practices and policies and ensuring officers are well-trained and prepared for making the kinds of split-second decisions necessary during a pursuit.
“There is so much that an officer has to process in a matter of seconds,” said Daniel Varrenti, chief of the Brockport Police Department and president of the Monroe County Association of Chiefs of Police.
Among those considerations: how serious was the offense? What time of day is it? What are the weather conditions? The road conditions? Lighting conditions? Is there other traffic or are there pedestrians on the roadway? What kind of car is the suspect driving? Is the driver of the other vehicle operating in a reckless manner? Can you get the plate number?
“You have to remember, though, that the officer pursuing the vehicle does not cause the accident,” said Varrenti. “If an accident occurs, it’s the person driving who is not complying with the law.”
The previous fatal crashes related to high-speed pursuits here happened in 2007.
The first occurred when a patrol officer spotted 44-year-old Pamela Chatman running out of the Mall at Greece Ridge with an armful of merchandise. The officer pulled behind her car and turned on his lights as she was leaving the parking lot, but Chatman sped off. She lost control of her vehicle about a mile later, near West Ridge Road and Mount Read Boulevard, and was ejected from the car. She died of her injuries.
In the second instance, a state trooper attempted to pull over a vehicle on North Clinton Avenue during a drug investigation. The driver of that car, 23-year-old Raynaldo Bonilla, 23, of Rochester did not stop. He hit a curb and crashed just north of East Ridge Road. A front-seat passenger, Omar Marquez, 27, was killed.