A multi-vehicle crash on Sheridan Drive sent a car into the front of Paula's Donuts in the Town of Tonawanda on Friday evening, shutting down a stretch of the busy commercial corridor during rush hour. The flagship bakery location at 2319 Sheridan Drive sustained damage to its glass and facade, but the business reopened for normal hours the very next morning.
Emergency dispatch logs show police and fire crews were sent to the scene around 5:25 p.m. Friday after a collision involving three vehicles and a bicyclist at Sheridan Drive and Gettysburg Avenue, according to emergency dispatch footage posted to YouTube. One of the vehicles involved in the pileup ultimately struck the Paula's Donuts building, according to WKBW.
Police temporarily closed all eastbound lanes of Sheridan Drive, also known as New York State Route 324, between Belmont Avenue and Logan Avenue while crews responded and cleared the scene, per the dispatch footage. Traffic was diverted through nearby residential side streets during the Friday evening commute as responders worked the crash.
Bicyclist Involved in Crash
The crash involved a bicyclist. Paula's Donuts said no employees or customers inside the shop were injured, and the company expressed concern for those involved in the collision outside, per the seed reporting from WKBW.
Following the crash, the bakery's damaged glass and facade were secured. Paula's Donuts said the building was inspected and cleared as safe and secure, and the company began remediating the property damage without interrupting operations. The Sheridan Drive location opened Saturday morning for normal business hours, the bakery said, and in its statement thanked the Ellwood Fire Department and Town of Tonawanda Police Department for their rapid response and assistance.
A Western New York Donut Institution
Paula's Donuts Hoodline previously ranked Paula's among top donut shops on the East Coast back in 2017.
A Corridor With a History of Serious Crashes
Sheridan Drive is one of Erie County's busiest east-west routes, according to an engineering analysis by C&S Companies. The corridor has seen serious crashes before: a 70-year-old man was struck by an SUV while crossing the road from the Town of Tonawanda Rails-to-Trails path on a Sunday and was hospitalized, according to WGRZ. C&S designed and oversaw construction of the Sheridan Drive HAWK pedestrian beacon for the Rails-to-Trails project, and the signal predates that cyclist crash.
The Town of Tonawanda Police Department has not released a determination of fault for Friday's crash, and it remains unclear whether any citations or charges will be filed.
