A 67-year-old Shortsville man was killed and a 60-year-old Stanley man was critically injured Tuesday afternoon after a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of State Route 245 and Number Nine Road in the Town of Seneca. The collision shut down the intersection for roughly three and a half hours while investigators worked the scene.
William Folts was driving a 2024 Mazda CX-5 south on Number Nine Road around 1 p.m. when he failed to yield the right of way at a stop sign, according to fingerlakesdailynews.com. His SUV collided with a westbound 2020 Ram pickup driven by Michael Dewall, 60, of Stanley. Folts was pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by whec.com.
Dewall was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, the same outlet reports. First responders arriving at the scene found both drivers unconscious and had to extricate them from their vehicles before they could be treated and transported.
Roadway Shut Down for Hours During Investigation
The intersection of Route 245 and Number Nine Road remained closed for about three and a half hours so investigators could reconstruct the crash and gather evidence, per the station's report. The closure forced traffic detours through the area during the investigation. Authorities have said the crash remains under investigation, with no additional findings released beyond the initial determination that the Mazda failed to yield.
According to 13WHAM-TV, Ontario County Undersheriff Michael Rago said the southbound SUV failed to stop and struck the westbound pickup truck, and that both vehicles rolled over following the collision. Neither vehicle carried any other occupants at the time of the crash, the station reported.
Another Ontario County Crash Weeks Earlier
The Seneca crash follows a separate serious collision earlier this month in Ontario County. On Oct. 5, two people were seriously injured in a crash at the intersection of State Routes 245 and 247 in Gorham, according to democratandchronicle.com. In that crash, deputies said a 67-year-old Fairport woman traveling south on Route 247 failed to yield the right of way to a pickup truck driven by a 24-year-old Naples man.
The woman and her passenger were seriously injured and flown to Strong Memorial Hospital, while the pickup driver and his passenger suffered minor injuries, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. Deputies said they continued to investigate that crash as well. No connection between the two incidents has been reported beyond their shared location in Ontario County and the recurring pattern of failure-to-yield collisions at rural intersections along Route 245.
