Amherst, NY (Oct. 8, 2026) – Three drivers were injured in a crash involving a dump truck on the I-990 Expressway in Amherst on the morning of October 8, according to the Amherst Police Department.
Police said that just after 7:15 a.m., a car driven by a 29-year-old woman from Buffalo went off the road and hit a guard rail. The car then swerved back into the travel lanes and hit another car, driven by a 75-year-old woman from Amherst.
Both vehicles moved into the path of a dump truck driven by a 51-year-old man from Buffalo, according to police. The dump truck hit both cars and flipped. Its load of crushed stone spilled across the highway.
All three drivers received medical attention for minor injuries, police said.
The incident is still under investigation. The Amherst Police Department has asked motorists who may have witnessed the crash to contact the department.
This is a developing story. Details may change as the investigation continues.
What to Do After a Truck Accident in Erie County
The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research recorded 4,681 large truck personal injury crashes in New York in 2024. That year, 89 percent of fatal and injury crashes involving a large truck involved more than one vehicle, compared with 70 percent of all such crashes.
- Get examined the same day. Concussion and whiplash symptoms often surface later.
- Write down the carrier name and the USDOT number on the cab door.
- Ask the Amherst Police Department for the crash report number.
- Photograph the vehicles and the roadway before the scene is cleared.
- Collect names and numbers for anyone who stopped.
- File your no-fault application quickly. New York requires written notice within 30 days, by November 7, 2026.
Who May Be Liable in a Chain-Reaction Crash on a New York Highway
Chain-reaction crashes rarely have one obvious answer. Investigators look at each driver’s speed, following distance, and reaction time. No citations have been announced in this crash.
When a commercial vehicle is involved, the truck’s owner, the driver’s employer, a maintenance contractor, or the company that loaded the stone may all share responsibility.
- Evidence that decides it: engine control module data, hours-of-service and inspection records, dashcam footage, and the damage pattern on each vehicle.
- Comparative fault: since May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411(b) bars recovery when a claimant’s fault equals or exceeds the defendants’ combined fault. Partial fault does not end a claim.
- Filing deadline: three years from the crash, or October 8, 2029 (CPLR 214).
- If a public entity is responsible, a notice of claim is generally due within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e, here around January 6, 2027.
How Stanley Law Offices Helps After a Multi-Vehicle Crash
At Stanley Law Offices, our Upstate NY injury lawyers take the insurer calls, the no-fault paperwork, and the claim notices off your plate. In a commercial vehicle case, we move early to preserve driver logs, maintenance files, and onboard data before they are overwritten, then build the medical picture and negotiate from it. If an insurer will not pay what the case is worth, we try it.
Joe Stanley founded the firm in 1982 and is Board Certified in Civil Trial Practice by the American Board of Trial Advocacy.
Drivers hurt in a multi-vehicle highway crash in Erie County usually want to know who they are dealing with first. Here is what Stanley Law Offices brings:
- Serving Upstate New York families for 45+ years
- Joe Stanley, Board Certified in Civil Trial Practice by the American Board of Trial Advocacy
- Super Lawyers recognition for 18+ consecutive years
- 4.7-star rating across 900+ verified reviews
- Offices in Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, Watertown, Oneonta, and Montrose, PA
- Available 24/7
- No recovery, no fee
Our Rochester office at 510 Clinton Square is the closest to Amherst. Call 888-997-3889 now.
