I am sad to report that another local motorcyclist has been killed by a careless driver. WETM-TV is reporting that 29 year old Anthony Church of Newfield, NY was traveling South on Trumbulls Corners Road in Newfield at 9:40 PM on Friday night when an oncoming car crossed over the center line and struck Mr. Church and his motorcycle head on. Mr. Church was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the car that killed Mr. Church has been identified as 21 year old Ian Clark, also of Newfield. State Police are investigating the accident but no charges have been filed at this point.
The WETM story can be found here, and is reproduced below.
Although no charges have yet been filed in the motorcycle accident case, this should not be taken as a sign that no charges will be filed. As a former prosecutor, I know that law enforcement officers want to make sure that they have all available information in hand before making a decision on what crime a suspect should be charged with. In this case, as in all fatal MVA’s, the State Police are required to take a blood sample to test for the presence of alcohol and drugs. In a case of this seriousness, the State Police routinely calls in their accident reconstruction team, who can determine relative speeds, evasive maneuvers, points of impact, and pre-accident vehicle positioning, all of which can have a bearing on what charges will be filed.
When the state Police charge Mr. Clark, they want to be sure they are charging him with the crime or crimes that are supported by the evidence. Unfortunately, it can take a bit of time to gather that information.
We will continue to update our readers as more information becomes available. In the meantime, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr. Church. Please keep them in your prayers.
Thanks for reading, and watch out for careless drivers!
Adam
______________________________
Adam M. Gee, Esq.
NY and PA Motorcycle Accident Attorney
The Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com
My book, “Would You Ride Your Motorcycle Naked?” is available FREE to New York and Pennsylvania bikers. Follow the link to order your copy today!
| Reported by: Nick Natario Email: nnatario@wetmtv.com Last Update: 9/04 10:00 pm |
Anthony Church was a friend of mine. He will be missed by his significant other Melissa and their four boys. His Parents, brother and sisters are in a world of hurt right now.
Todd – Anthony’s family and friends will remain in our thoughts. I can’t imagine what you all must be going through. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
“careless” why don’t we let the evidence describe what happened and the scenario rather than assume that that Mr. Clark was being reckless… as far as well know the motorcyclist was speeding and driving too close to the center of the road! Oh…and it wasn’t “head-on” The motorcyclist side swiped the car…..
Stephanie – Every report I have seen indicates Ian Clark crossed over into the oncoming lane and struck and killed Anthony Church. If you have anything that says differently, please provide it. Determining the point of the collision isn’t difficult. Law enforcement clearly indicated very early on that Mr. Clark crossed over the center line. That tells me the point of the collision was easily determined and clearly occurred in Mr. Church’s lane. If there was any doubt, the State Police would have waited until the accident reconstruction was completed before making any comments.
You say let the evidence speak for itself? What evidence do you have that Mr. Church was speeding or riding too close to the center line? Mr. Church was entitled to the full use of his lane. If Mr. Clark had stayed on his side of the road, Mr. Church’s four son’s would have a father coming home to them tonight.
I know Ian Clark and I have SEEN his totaled car. The entire left side of the car is on the passenger side of the car, and as far as I’m aware there are three witnesses who say that the Motorcyclist was in fact speeding and also riding very very close to the center lane, most likely to avoid DEER as was Ian. It was NOT a head on collision at all, and yes the evidence will prove whatever it will prove.
Obviously, if they were “so sure” it was Ian’s fault, they would have arrested him… they didn’t and he was actually able to see the birth of his daughter.
(left side being the driver’s side obviously. Ian was trapped in the vehicle)
I have been to the scene. It is clear by the automobile skid marks that the killer, Ian Clark crossed into Anthony’s lane taking his life. We still hold out hope for justice. As far as speeding claims go I don’t believe these “witnesses” had the radar detection gear to determine Anthony’s speed. So keep telling yourself what you want to believe. Soon you will be visiting Ian back in prision where he belongs.
You don’t need radar equipment to know if someone is speeding! It’s not that difficult of a task….however I know that in a court situation they won’t take one person saying that he was speeding….however if there are enough people….
and u don’t need to be resentful toward me! I have done nothing wrong to you. Ian was my friend and I was on his side because I’m a good friend… it doesn’t mean that I’m irrational. So don’t pin your spite on me….. I was giving the benefit of the doubt and I trusted what he told me…. which obviously was a bad idea (I find that trusting people is generally a bad idea….) so anyway… don’t be rude to me because I’ve done nothing wrong, I was just trying to be a good friend… but no I don’t care about supporting him anymore and I’m very sorry for the loss…. I hope his family is coping alright
I wish things that weekend had gone very different….
Stephanie – please explain to me how damage down the passenger side of Ian Clark’s car supports your argument. It is inconsistent with what you seem to be claiming. Your unsupported claim of speed is also a red herring – even if true, excessive speed at some unknown location prior to this collision is irrelevant to the issue of speed at the time of the collision. Todd’s statement that he has seen the skid marks in Anthony’s lane tell the real story. Again, the State Police wouldn’t have come out and named Clark as the cause of the accident prior to the completion of an accident reconstruction unless the facts were crystal clear. I haven’t seen anything that challenges that view of the facts.
It is wonderful that Ian Clark got to see the birth of his child. It is a tragedy that Anthony’s four sons will never get to see their father again.
P.S.
All evidence indicates that Ian Clark had skidded sideways into Anthony’s lane for reasons yet to be determined. We have PHOTOS of this. It appears that even the driver side rear wheel of Ian’s car had skidded over onto the shoulder beyond the left lane while the front of his car remained in the middle of the road. Anthony then applied his breaks enough to leave a skid but it was too late, he hit the car broad side. Stephanie, you speak with no knowledge of what happened. I am glad you are not the judge. Even Hitler had sympathizers.
I will speak on behalf of Anthony Church who was my best friend and brother in-law he was not speeding I know how he drives. Car or motorcycle. He was careful just because you have a motorcycle like his does not mean you are a speed daemon. I have seen the skid marks left by both of the car and Anthony’s bike you can see where the car fish tails around the road when he was finally aware of Anthony I have no doubt that the impact was on the side of the car because that is what the skid marks show. It also show the locking up of Anthony’s tires and those skid marks where NOT by the center line they were in the middle of HIS lane. You can tell where the actual impact took place by looking at the marks and they were all in his(Anthony’s) lane. When I first saw these marks it was the morning after the accident it was unbelivable to me where the accident was I figured it would have been on one of the many sharp turns that are on Trumbles corners but no it was on the only straight away on the road. I have heard many rumors about that night all consisting of a possible drag race. Of course I know that these are so called rumors and I don’t have any solid proof but when you look at the site it does seem possible thats what happened I do hope that the investigating officers look into this as well as they can. I hope that justice is brought to our family reguardless of what happened. I have watched first hand the sadness of his children nothing is worse to see his four children grieve for there father and theres nothing you can do to comfort them. I write this with shaking hands and tears in my eyes for a wonderful person who was loved dearly and will be missed forever.
PS ALL of the skid marks are in Anthonys lane proving further more that Anthony was in right lane and the driver of the car was not
Well I guess it’s a shame that I trusted what Ian said. I’ll take responsibility for my ignorance…. and yes it is very possible to see someone speeding and KNOW that they are speeding….haven’t you ever been somewhere and saw someone FLYING down the road and you just know that they are speeding…this isn’t very difficult to do…you don’t need equipment. When I hear “head on collision” I think that the FRONT of Ian’s car and the FRONT of the motorcycle meet….. from what I was told the motorcyclist side swiped the car…which is easily believed when the main damage to the car is the driver’s side….. I wasn’t told that Ian’s rear tires ended up over the shoulder of the motorcyclist’s lane…. with this information…. I’m definitely changing my view….. yes I know you (the reader) are going to gloat about how I am wrong…keep in mind…. Ian WAS my friend and I wanted to trust/believe what he said…. I try to give the benefit of the doubt…. but yes I am very rational and if I were presented with all the evidence I would of course never be biased. With the information I had at the time I would not have enough to say that it was Ian’s fault….this is my last post.
I’m glad you see the light.
Stephanie, don’t make it your last post, contact authorities with the names of these witnesses who left the scene of an accident. Prove you are not irrational. You seem to have valuable information about an open case.
I will not gloat about it it’s not something to gloat about. Of course you would want to trust your friend. Whatever story you heard from him or who ever else I am willing to bet is trying to protect him. Only time will tell what happens. He made a mistake whether he was “changing a cd and went into the other lane” as he is claiming or it was a drag race or whatever else I hope that he learns from his mistake as so the “three witnesses”. Strange though because I have only heard for sure that there was one other passenger where were these other “witnesses” and why didn’t they stay to wait for the ambulance and police? The family wants to know the truth however bad it is we have a right to know. I know of a similar story of a girl I new that died on the same road about 6 years ago. I got the real story from another passenger of the truck and it was alot different then what the driver said which was that he was “lighting a cigarette and lost control of the truck” It just seems like a good and easily belivable story. How many times have we heard the same lines only altered a little. From what I have heard the EMTs at the site have told someone I know very well and am very close to that Ian was freaked out and saying something about a race at the time but later he changed his story. I hope that if this is true that it is all in the accident report.
Gloating will dono good.
It’s not about you being right or wrong on this web log. It’s about a real life lost due to someones recklessness. It’s about waiting for the wheels of justice to slowly turn. Think outside your self, put your self in someones shoes. What if one of my friends killed your loved one? Would I foolishly defend him weather he was right or wrong? Or could I say to my self, he may have been at fault and taken a life and he should be held accountable. It feels like Ian will be free to roam and lie about that night for a long time. Meanwhile Anthony’s family and friends grieve and wait.
I don’t know anything, I only know what I have been told, and a few of those things were straight lies… (For Example: someone told me that it was in the newspaper that Ian was arrested about week after it happened…that never happened….) so….people lie…alot… Like I said, I don’t know anything.
and the whole thing about “gloating” was because there are a lot of mean people who WOULD gloat but I shouldn’t be surprised that none of you are those types of people. It’s come to the point where I don’t believe anything I hear over this situation anymore…. everything I have heard have been opinions, assumptions, exaggerations, or lies…I have only heard a handful of real facts…. so…until later I guess…. Let it be known that I do believe Ian is at total fault.
Well if you know anyone who knows the facts you should encourage them to come forward. Thanks.