Man charged for causing rollover accident

A serious injury accident on Interstate Highway 990, resulted in an Amherst man facing three traffic charges.

Amherst Police filed charges against Emmanuel Packianathan, 43, for his involvement in an Oct. 14 accident on I-990. He faces charges of following too close, unsafe lane change and failure to obey a traffic control device.

Capt. Patrick McKenna reported the accident took place at 10:06 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 14 near the North French Road entrance ramp of I-990, on the northbound side.

A 2000 Honda Odyssey van driven by Packianathan entered I-990 at the North French Road entrance ramp and crossed three lanes of traffic. He struck a 2001 Mercedes Benz SUV driven by Johnnie A. Fritz Jr., 43, of Lockport.

The SUV left the roadway and rolled over several times, before striking a tree, causing Fritz to be ejected from the vehicle.

He was taken to Erie County Medical Center, as was his wife, Anita, and their two children, ages 12 and 10. The two adults were admitted in serious condition but continue to improve. The children were not injured.

No injuries were reported among the six occupants of the van.