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‘He’s a hero’: Son of Jamestown man killed in wrong-way I-86 crash shares father’s legacy

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) — Todd Town loved his kids, grandkids and friends. But, now his family is grieving after a devastating wrong-way collision last weekend.

“He died a hero’s death. Make no mistake, he died on a battlefield,” said Todd’s son, Joe Town. “This was an act of terror, terror.”

Joe and his three siblings lost their father, Todd Town, to a wrong-way driver on I-86 in the Town of Ellicott last weekend.

Todd and his wife of almost 40 years, Sandra, were headed from Jamestown to meet their friends for dinner near Bemus Point.

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“My sister called me and all she said was, you know, Joe, hysterically, ‘mom and dad have been in an accident, STAR Flight’s been called.'”

Joe said, a man purposely drove miles in the westbound lane the wrong way with his headlights turned off.

That man died crashing his car into the truck Joe’s father and mother were driving in.

“This guy weaponized his car at over 80 miles an hour and shot it like a bullet into my father’s car,” Joe said. “It was cowardly.”

In a split second, Todd turned his truck so the oncoming car crashed into his side, saving his wife.

The force of the crash sent Todd’s pickup into a semi-truck and then flying through the air.

“When the paramedics got on scene, you know who was holding hands?” Joe said. “My mom and my dad. Hanging upside down with their car flipped over and they got cut out of their car and they were holding hands.”

Todd was rushed to UPMC Chautauqua in Erie where he passed away.

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Sandra survived and is on a ventilator at UPMC Hamot with several injuries.

Joe describes his father with one word — hero.

“Everything about him was selfless,” Joe added. “He loved my mom, loved us and loved all of our kids, which are his grandkids immensely. Everything was focused around that. If you needed help he was there, if you didn’t know you needed help, he was still there.”

Sandra is still in stable, but critical condition in the hospital.

Joe’s asking for prayers and cannot thank the community enough for their support.

A GoFundMe is set up to help the family with medical expenses, here.

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Patrick Ryan is an award-winning reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2020. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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