Afternoon News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on January 2, 2024
The driver of the SUV involved in the deadly crash outside the Kodak Center on New Year’s Day has died. Rochester police clarified this morning that the suspect, 35 year old Michael Avery of Syracuse, had rented the SUV from the Rochester airport Friday afternoon. ABC News previously reported he had rented the SUV from the Syracuse airport. Police said Avery is believed to have traveled to the Rochester area Wednesday, checking into the WoodSpring Suites in Greece. He reportedly drove his own vehicle to the airport two days later before renting the SUV. Avery purchased gas and containers at multiple locations in the Rochester area Saturday. Police located at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around the SUV following the crash, which happened around 12:50 a.m. Monday after a concert at the Kodak Center. Two other people were killed in the crash. Four others were injured. The FBI is investigating the crash as a possible act of domestic terrorism
New York State Police arrested a Rochester man for several felonies following a chase on Monday. At around 2:45 p.m., New York State Police attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle that committed a traffic violation. The driver of the vehicle failed to comply with the officer which led to a police chase through the city. The chase ended when the driver crashed into an SUV at the intersection of Culver Road and I-490. Troopers arrested 27-year-old Dontayvius Gordon on multiple weapons charges.
The City of Batavia received 350K in the form of a Community Development Block Grant just before the end of the year. The Federal Assistance Community Development Block Grant funds would enable homeowners to make home repairs with grant and deferred loan funding. Any single-family homeowner was encouraged to apply and the goal of the program was to provide “vibrancy to communities” similar to recent improvements made to Summit Street. This program is to tie in with the city’s housing improvement plan and the recently created Batavia Home Fund. Assistant City Manager Erik Fix says that the details are still being worked out and how the money will be allocated and who will receive the grant money will be announced in the next few months.
Gas Price Update for the New Year: In Batavia the average cost for a gallon of regular is down by 3 cents from a week ago and now sits at 3.41. The New York average is 3.35 which is down 3 cents from last week. The National Average is 3.10 which is down 3 cents from a week ago. Christmas travel was slightly lower than anticipated on the roads so the hike in gas costs that was predicted failed to appear. Experts are still predicting the prices to stay the same or rise slightly over the next few weeks.
The Bills will have the distinction of playing in Game 272, the final game of the NFL’s regular season, Sunday night. The winner of the game will capture the AFC East division title and earn the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Bills who are 10 and 6, currently trail the Dolphins, 11 and 5, by one game but own the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating Miami at home earlier in the season. The Bills are coming off a win against the New England Patriots 27 to 21. Buffalo still has not clinched a playoff berth, while Miami has. Losses by either Pittsburgh or Jacksonville, or a tie between Houston and Indianapolis, would seal a berth for Buffalo regardless of Sunday night’s result. The Bills could still miss the playoffs if they lose and both the Steelers and Jaguars win and the Colts-Texans game doesn’t end in a tie.
