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2 Killed In Separate South County Crashes Wednesday

The driver of a semi cab was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on Route 394. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Two separate rollover crashes claimed the lives of two drivers in the town of North Harmony on Wednesday.

The crashes kept first responders — including volunteer firefighters, Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies and fire police — busy for most of the morning and early afternoon.

At 4:10 a.m., deputies and firefighters from Ashville, Bemus Point and Chautauqua were called to the eastbound lane on Interstate 86 for a two-car crash. Fire officials arrived to find one of the vehicles involved on its roof.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as 66-year-old Tommy L. Hyde of Warsaw, Wyoming County, was pronounced dead at the scene by a county coroner.

Members of the county Accident Reconstruction Team remained on the interstate for several hours. The road was reopened to traffic by 10 a.m.

The pickup truck involved in Wednesday's crash on Route 394. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Around 10:10 a.m., firefighters and police were alerted to a crash between a semi tractor-trailer cab and a pickup truck on Route 394. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the pickup failed to stop at a stop sign at Magnolia Stedman Road and struck the cab, which was traveling on Route 394.

The cab rolled onto its roof; the driver, who was not identified, was pronounced dead by a coroner.

The driver of the pickup, who also has not been identified, was transported to Westfield Memorial Hospital for treatment of unknown injuries.

Lou Acquisto was in his yard along Route 394 when he heard the crash.

“I heard the squealing of the breaks, the bouncing of the breaks and tires hitting the pavement,” Acquisto told The Post-Journal. “I heard the crash, and then I heard another loud thud. I went up there and saw where that big truck was on its top. The driver of the pickup truck did get out and walked around but they took him to the hospital.”

Both crashes remain under investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

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