A 52-year-old Rochester man was pulled from the waters of Lake Erie by a SWAT team Friday morning after leading Westfield police on a chase that ended when his pickup truck smashed through a harbor barrier and plunged into the lake. Lutheter Younger survived the crash with non-life-threatening injuries and now faces a felony criminal mischief charge along with a string of misdemeanor and traffic citations.
According to NewYorkUpstate.com, Village of Westfield police officers first spotted a vehicle stopped in the eastbound lane of East Main Street at about 6:45 a.m. Friday. Authorities said Younger then accelerated and drove erratically through parts of the village and town of Westfield, prompting officers to pursue him. Younger is roughly 130 miles from home — he lives in Rochester, far northeast of the small Chautauqua County village where the chase unfolded, according to the Post-Journal.
The pursuit ultimately steered toward Barcelona Harbor Pier, where Younger's truck broke through a heavy-duty cable barrier before going into Lake Erie, the Post-Journal reported. The Chautauqua County SWAT team was called to the scene and removed Younger from the water, after which he was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Multi-Agency Response at the Water's Edge
The early morning emergency required coordination well beyond Westfield's own police force. The Westfield Police Department was supported on scene by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office and the county SWAT team, per the same account from the Post-Journal. That kind of joint response reflects how quickly a routine traffic stop escalated into a water rescue involving multiple jurisdictions.
Once Younger was safely out of the lake, attention turned to the submerged truck.
Felony and Misdemeanor Charges Stack Up
Police charged Younger with second-degree criminal mischief and unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle, per NewYorkUpstate.com. The criminal mischief count is a Class D felony under New York Penal Law § 145.10, punishable by up to seven years in state prison when intentional property damage exceeds $1,500, according to the New York State Senate. The fleeing charge, classified under Penal Law § 270.25 as third-degree unlawful fleeing, is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, according to the New York State Unified Court System.
Younger was also cited for reckless driving, speeding in a school zone, aggravated unlicensed operation, leaving the scene of a property-damage accident, operating an unregistered vehicle and operating an uninsured vehicle, the report states. The aggravated unlicensed operation citation falls under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 511(2), an unclassified misdemeanor carrying mandatory fines between $500 and $1,000 and up to 180 days in jail or probation, per the New York State Senate's statutory text.
Investigation Into Damaged Patrol Cars Continues
Authorities are continuing to investigate whether additional charges will be filed in connection with alleged damage to patrol vehicles belonging to assisting agencies during the pursuit, according to the same report. As of Friday, law enforcement officials were still working through allegations that Younger damaged police vehicles during the chase, a detail also reported by the Observer Today, which could mean further legal exposure beyond the charges already filed.
Barcelona Harbor, where the chase came to its dramatic end, sits beside the historic Barcelona Lighthouse, built in 1829 and recognized as the first lighthouse in the world illuminated by natural gas, according to Erdman Anthony.
No update on Younger's condition or custody status beyond his hospital treatment has been reported, and the investigation into the patrol vehicle damage remains ongoing.
