2 years ago
18-year-old James "Luke" Bierl was just a few houses from his own home when his 1998 Volkswagen left a winding stretch of Eckhardt Road in the town of Eden overnight and crashed.
The car struck a tree after leaving the road just before 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. It was a half hour after the crash that a passer-by found him. The 2007 St. Francis High School graduate was pronounced dead at the scene.
Earlier in the day, a police dispatcher said it was possible alcohol was a factor, but later in the day an officer told Channel 2's Lynne Dixon they won't know for sure what caused the crash until test results come back.
Eden Police Officer Shawn Bishop says Bierl did have a seatbelt on and the airbag deployed. "The accident is under investigation with the Eden Police Department and the Erie County Sheriff's Department. At that time we can determine speed and cause of the accident."
The accident happened right outside Sharon Gallman's home. She says she heard the crash, got up, looked outside, saw nothing, and went back to bed. She was awakened again later by the siren lights and voices. "Then we found out what happened," she said. Gallman says she's considering taking the tree down because it serves as a constant reminder to the family that something bad happened.
"Actually, maybe in a couple of weeks or beginning of Summer I would actually like to get rid of it," she said. "It is close to the road and just to get rid of it because it'll be a constant reminder to the family that something bad happened here."
Bierl played hockey at St. Francis in his first couple of years there. A relative says he was going to attend the prom of a friend next week. An autopsy was done Wednesday. Results are not yet complete.
WGRZ-TV
