State Police are investigating a serious personal injury crash on I-90 in the town of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County.

Dunkirk, NY – On March 16, 2023, at approximately 9:05 p.m., State Police responded to I-90 westbound in the area of mile marker 468.6, for a personal injury crash involving a passenger vehicle and a tractor trailer.

A preliminary investigation determined that Rashaun T. David, 34, of Buffalo, NY, was parked on the left shoulder, in a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, with no lights on, when he abruptly turned into traffic and across both westbound lanes.  Mohamed A. Ahmed, 47, of Minneapolis, MN, traveling westbound in a 2015 Freightliner tractor trailer, was unable to avoid the collision, and struck the Sonata.  David was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the impact and was ejected from the vehicle.  He sustained serious injuries and was air lifted from the scene to UPMC Hamot in Erie, PA, where he is currently listed in critical condition.  Ahmed was not injured in the crash.    

When an uninvolved tractor trailer took evasive action to avoid striking the Sonata, it caused its load to be compromised.  The tractor trailer was hauling large rolls of paper towels and was required to be offloaded from the trailer while at the scene.     

All westbound lanes were blocked between exit 59 (Dunkirk) and exit 60 (Westfield).  A traffic diversion remained in place at exit 59 while accident reconstruction, vehicle recovery and clean-up efforts were completed.  All lanes reopened this morning, by approximately 9:30 a.m.

Troopers were assisted on scene by Troop T CVEU (Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit), Troop A BCI and CRU (Collision Reconstruction Unit), Thruway Traffic Safety and Maintenance.  The crash remains under investigation.