The Town of Amherst has agreed to pay $13.6 million to settle lawsuits stemming from a January 2020 crash between a police patrol car and a Chevrolet carrying five University at Buffalo students. The settlement closes out a case that began on a winter night nearly six years ago at the intersection of Sheridan Drive and Sweet Home Road, when a burglary call turned into one of the costliest crashes in town history.
According to The Buffalo News, the crash happened on Jan. 31, 2020, as an Amherst police officer was responding to a call. Sullivan was driving a car with four friends from Long Island toward UB’s North Campus after a house party near South Campus when the vehicles collided.
Early reporting on the crash included conflicting accounts of how the two vehicles converged. WIVB reported at the time that the patrol car was headed westbound on Sheridan when it struck a Chevrolet headed northbound on Sweet Home Road, while WKBW identified the other vehicle simply as a 2012 Chevrolet struck near the same intersection. Six people, including the officer, were taken to local hospitals that night, WKBW reported.
Conflicting Reports on Injuries in the Crash's Aftermath
In the days after the crash, outlets offered differing accounts of how many students were critically hurt. WIVB initially reported that one female student was in critical condition, three others were stable, and a fifth was treated and released along with the officer. A separate WIVB report said two people in the Chevrolet were listed in critical condition, while the driver and two other passengers were stable. Nearly three days later, WIVB reported that four UB students remained hospitalized.
The five students in the car were identified by WKBW as Brenna Sullivan, Cara Wojtach, Mary Devaney, Savanna Hinten and Sophia Calleo, all 20 years old except for 19-year-old Calleo. Wojtach suffered cuts to her face, a fractured sternum, a lacerated spleen, nine fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, a fractured pelvis and a fractured sacrum, and spent 20 days at Erie County Medical Center. Hinten was among the students injured in the crash. Rusch suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Lawsuits Followed the Crash
The crash led to lawsuits.
Settlement Reached
The settlement totals $13.6 million.
