WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – It was, police say, “incredibly dangerous.”
Last October 14, a truck driven by Skylar Willsie, 20, of Glenfield, collided with an SUV on Arsenal Street. It happened late at night, and Willsie told police the SUV pulled out in front of him.
But Watertown police said Monday there was another factor – Willsie was going 104 miles an hour. Police figured it out using the engine computer from Willsie’s truck.
“People are gauging their actions based on the fact that they know people are supposed to be going 30 miles per hour,” Detective Sergeant Joseph Giaquinto of the Watertown police said Monday.
“It’s almost impossible to account for a vehicle going 104 miles per hour in an area where you expect them to be doing 30.”
Although several people were injured in the accident, no one died. Luck, police say.
Willsie was charged with four felonies – one charge of reckless endangerment for each of the four people in the two vehicles – as well as reckless driving, unlicensed operation, and speeding. He was released from jail Monday to reappear January 18.
Bystanders told police they thought Willsie was racing another vehicle. Willsie told a different story, said another vehicle had cut him off so he went around it “and the vehicle sped up behind him so he went faster.” He figured he was doing 60.
The crash garnered a lot of attention when it happened; five soldiers from Fort Drum were lauded for helping at the scene of the accident.
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