A 16-year-old West Valley student from Ellicottville is dead after the pickup truck he was riding in left Felton Hill Road in Ashford and slammed into a tree last Wednesday evening. New York State Police say Domnic S. Fuller was ejected from the vehicle in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash happened around 6:15 p.m. on September 30, as a 2019 Dodge Ram pickup truck traveled eastbound on Felton Hill Road, according to News 4 Buffalo. State police say the vehicle left the roadway on a curve, drifting off the south shoulder before striking the tree, a sequence of events detailed by Newport Dispatch. Troopers from the Machias barracks responded to the scene that night, the outlet reported.
The driver, identified as 19-year-old Baily Fuller of West Valley, was taken to Bertrand Chaffee Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. State police say neither Baily Fuller nor Domnic S. Fuller was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Investigators Rule Out Impairment, Point to Speed
State police reported finding no signs of driver impairment following the crash, instead identifying excessive speed as the main factor, as reported by the Utica Phoenix. The agency's Collision Reconstruction Unit and Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted local troopers in analyzing the scene, per the same Newport Dispatch report. Those specialized units typically examine skid marks and vehicle speed on rural roadway curves like the one on Felton Hill Road.
Police in New York issued more than 525,000 speeding tickets in 2022, according to data from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research. Excessive speed also contributed to fatal crashes statewide. Nationally, speeding contributed to 29 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2024, resulting in 11,288 deaths, per federal figures cited by the Utica Phoenix.
School District Mobilizes Grief Counseling
The West Valley Central School District offered grief support and counseling services for students and staff following Fuller's death, according to the Olean Times Herald. The district serves Ashford, Ellicottville, and surrounding rural townships in Cattaraugus County, placing both the crash site and Fuller's hometown within its reach.
What New York Law Requires of Every Passenger
Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1229-c, all vehicle occupants, regardless of age or seating position, must be properly buckled, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The state updated its seat belt law in November 2020 to eliminate back-seat age exemptions, closing a gap that had previously allowed older passengers to ride unrestrained in rear seats.
New York's seat belt law requires occupants, regardless of age or seating position, to buckle up.
Occupant ejection can be fatal, underscoring why restraint use matters in crashes like this one.
