Two Rochester residents are dead after a stolen vehicle crashed into a tree in Lockport, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the driver has been identified as Michael L. Walker, 29, and the passenger as Ana G. Cerrato, 28, both from Rochester.
The incident occurred just before 2 p.m. on Saturday after a deputy on patrol was alerted to the stolen vehicle by an in-car license plate reader. Upon confirming the vehicle’s status through the DMV database, the deputy conducted a traffic stop in a parking lot on Chestnut Ridge Road in Lockport, deputies said.
While issuing verbal commands to the vehicle’s operator, the individual accelerated westbound on Chestnut Ridge Road at a high speed, deputies said. The deputy pursued the vehicle for a short distance before the stolen vehicle accelerated and increased its distance from the deputy.
Despite maintaining visual observation at reduced speeds, the deputy witnessed the stolen vehicle lose control and crash into a tree from a distance, deputies said.