CAMBRIA: Four injured in head-on collision

Local News

February 26, 2008

By April Amadon/amadona@gnnewspaper.com The Niagara Gazette Tue Feb 26, 2008, 08:59 PM EST

A head-on collision at Saunders Settlement and Comstock roads sent four people to area hospitals Tuesday during a winter storm that caused slippery road conditions throughout the county.

Sheriff’s deputies say Maxine Varkonda, 36, of Gabriel Drive, Lockport, was driving her 2007 Chevrolet Cavalier west on Saunders Settlement Road about 7:36 a.m. when she lost control and collided head-on with a pickup coming in the other direction.

The collision left Varkonda’s car crushed almost beyond recognition, and the pickup, driven by 40-year-old James Burford of Oregon, suffered heavy damage.

Niagara County Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Preisch said the car suffered “a lot of crush damage,” and fire crews had to use the Jaws of Life to extract the female driver.

“When they finally pulled the wreckage away, the car had kind of collapsed around her,” Preisch said. “The damage was, when you looked at it, the initial thought was it was much more serious than I think her injuries will turn out to be.”

Varkonda was transported to ECMC for treatment of severe leg injuries, the report said.

Burford suffered minor injuries. One passenger, John Hester, 40, also of Oregon, was transported by Rural Metro to ECMC for treatment of back injuries.

The back-seat passenger, Samuel Provost, 28, of Syracuse, was ejected out the rear window, the report said. He suffered wrist and head injuries and was transported by Wendelville ambulance to ECMC.

Provost was being treated in the emergency room on Tuesday evening, according to an ECMC patient information clerk. Hester was listed in fair condition.

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