WESTFIELD - One man is dead and another has internal injuries following an accident Wednesday afternoon.
Troopers from State Police at Fredonia were dispatched to a car-pedestrian accident on Route 394 about two miles south of the village of Westfield at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. An investigation found that two employees of CTS Telecommunications of Orrville, Ohio were working near their parked utility bucket truck on the shoulder of the road.
According to police, the bucket arm on the truck was extended horizontally about one foot off the ground, with the men standing near the arm.
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Photo by Jenna Loughlin
A car being driven by 58-year-old Trudy Williams of Clymer-Corry Road in Clymer drifted onto the shoulder, striking both men. Billy Johnson, 49, of Hannan Trace Road, Crown City, Ohio, was thrown into the extended bucket, hit his head, and landed on the shoulder of the road behind the truck. Nathaniel Bailey, 26, of Route 1 in Glenwood, W.Va., was thrown under the extended bucket.
Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene by Chautauqua County Coroner Rick Mackowiak. Bailey was taken to Westfield Memorial Hospital with internal injuries. The driver of the vehicle was also taken to Westfield Memorial Hospital as a precaution.
The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation is continuing the investigation. Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Westfield Police Department, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department.