A vehicle sped away from Buffalo police early Sunday morning before slamming into another car near Victoria Avenue and Holden Street, damaging multiple vehicles and prompting fire crews to check for a possible gas leak at the scene.
According to WGRZ, Buffalo police said officers spotted the vehicle traveling north on Fillmore Avenue at a high rate of speed shortly after midnight on Nov. 8. Officers then attempted to stop the vehicle on Victoria Avenue, but it sped away from police rather than pulling over, per the police account relayed to the station.
The vehicle ultimately crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Holden Street, according to the same report. The collision damaged multiple cars, and Buffalo fire crews responded to the scene following reports of a possible gas leak.
What We Still Don't Know
The supplied police account does not identify the driver, say whether anyone was hurt, or indicate whether anyone was arrested or charged in connection with the crash. Details on the vehicle's exact speed and the route it took after the attempted stop on Victoria Avenue have not been released.
It also remains unclear whether police formally classified the incident as a pursuit, a distinction that matters given the department's own restrictions on when officers may chase a fleeing vehicle.
How Buffalo's Pursuit Rules Are Supposed to Work
Under the City of Buffalo's patrol policy, officers are barred from bumping or ramming a suspect vehicle to end a pursuit, and barricading a roadway is likewise restricted unless specific conditions are met — including that the underlying offense or circumstances would permit the use of deadly physical force. A broader review from the New York State Attorney General's Office notes that Buffalo pursuits are banned outright when the reason for the attempted stop is a Vehicle and Traffic Law violation, a misdemeanor, or another non-violent felony. Neither document, as supplied, establishes whether those restrictions applied to the officers' actions in Sunday's incident.
A Separate, Deadlier Crash Elsewhere in Buffalo
The Fillmore Avenue crash is not the only recent case in the city involving a vehicle fleeing police. In a separate incident reported by WKBW, Buffalo police responded to a crash at Jefferson Avenue and George Street around 1 a.m. that involved a vehicle West Seneca police had been pursuing after it was reported stolen from Amherst. Two occupants, 15-year-old Danielle Hilton and 18-year-old Brendon Gibson, later died at ECMC, while the other occupants in that vehicle remained seriously injured, according to the station's report. The Buffalo Police Department and the state Attorney General's Office were investigating that crash, per the same account. That case is distinct from Sunday's Fillmore Avenue incident and involved a different pursuing agency, but it underscores the stakes anytime a vehicle flees from law enforcement in the city.
