It was quite the scene in Wellsville Wednesday afternoon. A big crash at the infamous and busy intersection of Madison Street and the Genesee Parkway. An SUV on its side. An unmarked state police investigator vehicle yards award. Both crumpled. The intersection was closed for hours. Motorists were inconvenienced. Enter the remarks.
The Wellsville Police Department, I believe, handed off the investigation to state police (officer involved, etc.). The troopers opted to call in its special accident reconstruction team. If they didn't, there would be no doubt that social media would have determined that a 'cover up' was in play. Since they took exhaustive efforts to review and analyze the scene, aka, investigation, they would be accused of 'taking too long.'
There is no such thing as a 'routine' traffic stop. Similarly, there is no such thing as a 'routine' crash scene investigation. If you're not involved, you don't care. If you ARE involved, you do care about details. Crash scene investigations are methodical and not based on inconvenience factors. After all, Wellsville traffic still flowed, just using a different route.
Based on 36 years of reporting, I believe NO cop wanted to be there investigating an incident involving law enforcement. A car unlock would have preferable. But the cops don't get to choose the calls they respond to.
Crash scene investigations are slow and methodical. Step by step. Everything from was a window rolled down, was a radio on, what was the traffic flow, seatbelts, witness statements, etc. Unlike TV, incidents are not solved in the network required 42 minutes. It's a no win situation for law enforcement. Too slow-bad. Too quick-cover up. No win. Somebody, somewhere, will be suspicious. The photo's I took only represented a moment in time - not the entire incident. Hence...an investigation.
There are good aspects to this whole 'thing.' Nobody died. Volunteer first responders devoted hours of their life to keep things safe and control traffic. The Texas Hot, maybe others, donated food and supplies to the first responders, understanding the extended hours of service.
I do admit that the state police press release was weak in not identifying one of it's own. Only one driver listed.. Both drivers should have been identified. Having said that, many things are beyond my control.
Bottom line- I'm fine without a microwave judgment. I'd prefer a thorough review.
