A man who drove his car into the Erie Canal early Monday was officially pronounced dead at DeGraff Memorial Hospital shortly thereafter.
Donald Kreuter, 43, of Tonawanda Creek Road in Amherst, a double amputee and Persian Gulf War veteran, was pulled from the car after entering the canal near Sweeney and Main streets in North Tonawanda, according to North Tonawanda Detective Lt. Tom Krantz.
North Tonawanda police received the call at 1:38 a.m., Krantz said. Kreuter was underwater for at least 10 minutes when his body was brought back to the surface by the North Tonawanda dive team.
Though Kreuter was taken to DeGraff, where he was officially declared deceased, he was likely already dead when the dive team pulled him from the water, Krantz said.
Kreuter’s Honda Accord was parked in the lot near the Dockside Inn on Sweeney Street when he drove the car over the curb stop and sidewalk and into the canal, striking and damaging a boat on the way, Krantz said. The car was 34 feet out into the canal when it was located. Kreuter was the only person in the car.
The reason for the tragic accident was unclear, Krantz said.
“It’s under investigation,” he said. “It could be accidental or intentional, we don’t know, and we may never know.”
A North Tonawanda volunteer firefighter attempted to rescue Kreuter by jumping in to save him, but he was unable to, Krantz said.
Eyewitness John Keleman talked to Tonawanda News partner WKBW Channel 7 about the accident, recounting a harrowing scene.
“I heard a loud crash up across the canal,” Keleman told Channel 7. “I saw a car coming over the parking bumpers. It went over the wall and crashed right into a boat."
Keleman went on to describe the firefighter’s attempted rescue effort.
"There were a couple of fishermen over here,” he said. “One of them I believe was a North Tonawanda fireman. He came running down the dock. He jumped in and he was trying to break windows. The car just went down too fast for him.”
Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the accident, but it’s unclear at this time, Krantz said.
Kreuter’s two prosthetic legs may have also affected him during the crash, Krantz said.
There is also a chance that Kreuter may have accidentally put the car into drive instead of reverse, Krantz said, considering the short distance between the parking spot and the canal. Kreuter’s car was facing the canal, which was less than 20 feet from where his car was parked.
“That is definitely a possibility,” Krantz said.
Contact reporter Phil Dzikiy at 693-1000, ext. 114.
Multimedia
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