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Only five days after Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill vowed to contain speeding on Cayuga Heights Road two weeks ago, a small pickup truck with an extended cab hit the guard rail not far from the Mayor's house, launched over it, then hit some trees and brush, flipped multiple times over a creek, and landed upside down onto a lawn or a rental property Hartill owns.  The driver was trapped underneath the brake pedal and dash, and two passengers managed to crawl out.  The accident occurred around 6am on October 10th.

"It was a difficult extrication," says Lansing Fire Chief Scott Purcell.  "The extrication we practice down in the yard is when the truck is on its wheels.  We had to do it backwards and upside down that morning."

Village of Lansing officials had moved the radar tracking sign from Triphammer Road to Cayuga Heights Road to try to contain speeding, especially since Cayuga Heights Road has recently been repaved, which some residents say has increased speeding there.  Hartill says he is collecting data from the sign to use in convincing the Sheriff's Department to patrol the road periodically.

The sign had been collecting data on the southbound side, and Hartill says the sign has now been moved to the northbound side.  When he has northbound data he will approach the Sheriff to ask for enforcement.  So far the sign has monitored about 500 vehicles per day in the southbound lane alone.  56% of those are traveling between 30 and 40 miles per hour.  22% were clocked between 21 and 30 mph.  11% went between 41 and 50 mph, and 1.2% between 50 and 60.


Trustee John O'Neill asked whether four way stop signs at the intersection of Cayuga Heights Road and Oakcrest Road would solve the problem.  Hartill said he had discussed the possibility with Superintendent of Public Works John Courtney, but prefers not to install them there.

"It's a shame, but it may be necessary," Hartill said.  "That's a last resort from my point of view, because there is no enforcement.  If you don't have enforcement it just encourages people to run stop signs at other places.  We're first going to try periodic policing."

A police presence may have prevented the accident.  Hartill estimates the truck must have been traveling between 40 and 50 miles per hour.  The road is clearly marked as having a 30 mile per hour speed limit.

Purcell says about 10 Lansing emergency responders arrived at the scene, and another ten from the Cayuga Heights Fire Department assisted, along with Bangs Ambulance personnel, Sheriff's Deputies and Cayuga Heights police.  Hartill estimated about 40 emergency responders altogether were at the scene.  Purcell says that the two passengers refused medical treatment, and the driver was taken to Elmira for treatment.

"We had to cut a brake pedal and roll the dash to get his leg out from underneath the dash," Purcell says.  "He was upside down.  The way the truck rolled over pushed the dash onto his leg."

"It just brings home one more time that speeding on that roadway is obviously a problem," Hartill told Village Trustees Monday.

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