ARKWRIGHT, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York State police announced the investigation into a fatal two-vehicle crash in Chautauqua County.
The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday at State Route 83 and Center Road intersection in the Town of Arkwright.
According to police, 59-year-old Randall Rolison of Jamestown was operating a Chevrolet Trailblazer south on Center Road when he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and struck a Ford F-150 traveling west on State Route 83.
Police said a passenger in the Ford, 71-year-old Linda A. Kraemer of South Dayton, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene by the Chautauqua County Coroner. The driver of the Ford was transported to Brooks Memorial Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Rolison and his two passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
According to the Chautauqua County District Attorney's Office, Rolison was out on bail after a Chautauqua County Grand Jury indicted him in two separate cases. This includes a case where he faces a manslaughter charge in the death of 15-year-old Alexis Hughan. She was killed in a hit-and-run crash on December 31, 2021. Police later arrested Rolison in connection to the crash and he was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a death. Further investigation revealed Rolison had three unregistered handguns in a storage unit located in the Town of Busti. He was facing a second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charge in that case.
The district attorney's office released a statement that said in part:
"At the bail hearing held earlier this year on all charges – those charges related to Lexi’s death as well as the separate gun charges - we asked that bail be set at $500,000 cash, or in the alternative, a $1 million property bond. We believed these to be the appropriate amounts given the circumstances. Unfortunately, County Court Judge Foley disagreed with our position and ultimately set bail on the Manslaughter case at $35,000 cash, or in the alternative, a $70,000 property bond or otherwise $70,000 partially secured at 10%, and set bail on the gun charges at $50,000 cash, or in the alternative, a $100,000 property bond or otherwise $100,000 partially secured at 10%. Subsequently, Mr. Rolison made bail and was released.
All of law enforcement share the public’s frustrations. As District Attorney, I will continue to perform my job in the criminal justice system: to prosecute those criminal charges which are appropriate under the facts and circumstances and, as it is relevant here, advocate the People’s position at bail proceedings.
To this end, we are pursuing a number of options available under the law for addressing the current situation, including seeking the revocation of Mr. Rolison’s bail so that he can be jailed pending trial on the indicted cases. We are also actively working to develop information and evidence arising from Saturday’s accident which may lead us to file new charges against Mr. Rolison.
We are doing everything within our power to ensure that justice is served and are fully engaged in the investigation into Saturday’s accident and in the process of developing and evaluating the evidence so that I make the right charging decisions going forward. As much as I can without compromising the cases, I will keep the public informed of further developments as they arise.”
