Tragedy strikes again on Ridge Road

Local News

August 27, 2010

By Britney Milazzo Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri Aug 27, 2010, 12:23 AM EDT

WRIGHTS CORNERS — A fatal lawn mower accident Wednesday night marks the third tragedy in eight months on the 5000 block of Ridge Road, near Johnson Road.

The other two came in December when a 29-year-old Lewiston woman was involved in a fatal car accident on her way to Newfane High School and in July when a boat motor exploded at the home of Blaze’s Pony Express that lit three men on fire.

Leroy A. Gommer, 62, was pronounced dead around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after a riding lawn mower he was helping to retrieve from a pond rolled over and trapped him underneath, Chief Deputy Steve Preisch said Thursday.

A report said the victim’s sister, Janet Botting, called 911 at 7:03 p.m. from her 5595 Ridge Road home where the incident took place.

Upon arrival, deputies said they saw an orange Kubota riding lawn mower upside-down in a pond with Gommer trapped underneath.

Friends and neighbors said Thursday Gommer worked at Gordon and Janet Botting’s farm doing landscaping and yard work.

“He was always out there cutting the grass and if he saw you he’d always give a friendly wave,” neighbor Roger Miller said. “It’s such a shame this happened.”

Another neighbor said: “It’s a terrible thing that happened to Leroy,” but wanted her name to remain anonymous. “If it means anything, he was a really, really great guy,” she said in tears.

Gordon Botting told officials he was mowing the grass when the mower became stuck near the north side of the pond. He added that Gommer came over to help remove the stuck lawn mower when it flipped over into the pond on top of him.

According to deputies, Janet called 911 after Botting jumped into the pond in an attempt to save Gommer.

Preisch said the lawn mower was fully submerged in the water and Botting tried to pull the lawn mower out using chains linked from the riding lawn mower to his Chevy pickup, but was unsuccessful.

A report said deputies Aaron C. Schultz and Richard Bull assisted Wrights Corners Fire personnel with lifting the mower out of the water.

Wrights Corners and Rural Metro medics attempted reviving Gommer with negative results, a report said.

A call was made to the Botting family, but the number was not in service.

Other residents in the area said although the three major accidents in the area within the last year were not related, their section of the road is unlucky.

“We all spoke after these accidents and it’s unbelievable these kind of things happen in an area that is not very populated,” Darren Pogue said, a Ridge Road resident. “It’s just a bad luck area and there’s not a whole lot we can do to keep safe other than to be extra aware of our surroundings.”

Miller agreed.

“It’s not necessarily an unsafe area. Bad luck is all you can call it,” he said.

Miller said that this is the second of the three accidents that had an impact on him.

“I knew Leroy a little. Just a real nice guy; a good neighbor,” Miller said, while he added that his grandchildren were former Newfane High School students of the woman who lost her life last year in an accident down the street from Miller’s home.

“Josh and Bradley had her for Spanish,” Miller said. “I can’t imagine losing a lady like that, who a lot of students really liked.”

• At 7:19 a.m. Dec. 22, Christina Portale, 29, of Lewiston, was driving east on Ridge Road near Johnson Road when she lost control of her vehicle in the snow, causing her to strike a westbound tractor-trailer, according to reports. Deputies said the victim was pronounced dead on the scene. Portale was a Spanish teacher at Newfane High School and the mother of two young children.

The next major incident came in a July boat fire. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

• Around 5 p.m. July 26, three men were transported to Erie County Medical Center — two by Mercy Flight — when a boat motor exploded setting the men on fire. Adam Kumm, 23, of 55 Sixth St., North Tonawanda, Joseph Woodring, 27, of 195 Mead St., North Tonawanda, and the boat owner, Jonathan Ludwig, 18, 5659 Ridge Road, all suffered second-degree burns to their face and arms.

“What’s crazy is that all three are completely different incidents within the same basic 1/4 mile of road,” Pogue said. “It’s just unlucky here.”

Contact reporter Britney Milazzo at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

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