No one injured in ballpark crash

BUFFALO (WNE) — A tragedy was narrowly avoided over the weekend when a vehicle collided with what could have been a dugout full of baseball players.

That dugout, however, was empty, as that day’s game had been delayed an hour due to weather, Brandon Todd said.

Todd is the head of the Post 13 American Legion baseball program and head coach of the A team. He said that just he and Bill Ostheimer were at Prosinski Park when the accident happened on Saturday. He heard the collision and looked behind him to see that a vehicle had driven into the third baseline dugout and some fencing at the field. Shortly thereafter, about 20 people were at the field, he said.

Buffalo Police Chief Sean Bissett said it appears that the incident was the result of a medical emergency, and the driver had lost consciousness before crossing the lane of traffic along South Burritt Avenue and driving into the dugout at a low speed. The driver was taken to the hospital, and no charges or citations have been issued. No bystanders were injured, Bissett said.

Todd said that the day’s game was originally scheduled for noon but was rescheduled to 1 p.m., meaning there would have been players in the dugout and spectators nearby where the collision occurred if it hadn’t been rescheduled.

“It could have been catastrophic,” Todd said. “... Ultimately, it was an act of God that the weather came and we pushed the game.”

The car was removed and the fencing was pushed off the playing field in time for the game on Saturday to proceed only five minutes behind schedule, Todd said.

This story was published on April 24, 2025.