Erie Co. Sheriff's Office Investigating Fatal Crash That Occurred In Town of Clarence.

Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard reports Deputies responded to a single-vehicle crash on May 16 at approximately 9:12 p.m. in front of 4350 Shisler Road in the Town of Clarence.

When Clarence Fire Chief arrived on scene, it was identified to him an occupant was still in the car by one of the residents. Command updated Amherst Fire Control and responding units with the information provided. The medium pressured natural gas supply line was ruptured in the accident and National Fuel Gas Service Truck was also on scene within a few minutes of first arriving units. The Service Tech was unable to shut down the leak immediately thus arriving crews were ordered to pack up, stretch a line and go do a rapid extrication of the victim. The victim was removed from the vehicle within 10-15 mins of the call dispatched, while the gas was still flowing. The driver, 23-year-old Caleb Nati of Akron, was extricated from the vehicle and transported to Erie County Medical Center in critical condition and later passed away from his injuries.

It took National Fuel a total of 3 hours to shut down the gas line for emergency crews. The incident is assigned to the Sheriff’s Crash Investigation Unit, and a cause of the crash has not been determined.