Driver in crash that killed four was going 90 mph, deputies say
A day before Viktor Shapiro drove 90 mph to his death with three other Amherst teenagers, he raced down the same road in Clarence with a friend doing 115 mph.
Erie County sheriff's accident investigators declined to confirm the speed but said they did interview the female passenger he was with last Saturday as he was speeding on Strickler Road in Clarence.
Her statement, they said at a news conference Friday, allowed them to confirm that Shapiro was familiar with the roadway, where he and his three companions would die Sunday night at the intersection of County Road.
Sgt. Scott Joslyn said the now-completed accident investigation confirmed that Shapiro was going 90 mph Sunday night but that the cause of the accident was the 18-year-old's failure to stop for a Strickler Road stop sign.
The lawyer for the family of Megan Schnorr, 16, who was ejected from the back seat of Shapiro's 2002 Nissan Sentra, said he was informed at the wake of Amanda Slisz, 16, another passenger in the car, that Shapiro had driven 115 mph the day before the crash.
"That's what I was told at the wake by someone who is a reliable source. He had a female in the car with him when he was driving that fast," said Michael A. Iacono of Siegel, Kelleher & Kahn, which has hired a private accident investigation team to collect additional information on the fatal crash. "Obviously, we're concerned over his reckless pattern of driving ..."
About two weeks ago, Shapiro had topped 115 mph, according to his friend, Mark Guenther.
"The fastest I ever went with Viktor was 120 mph. We were on the highway coming into Buffalo," Guenther, 19, of Amherst, said. "I was a little nervous, naturally, but I felt like he had it under control."
Another friend of Shapiro recalled riding with him on a stretch of Transit Road and hitting a top speed of 70 mph in a 45-mph zone.
"I think he was just trying to show off his car. He probably got up to 70 mph, but there were no intersections, and I told him to slow down and he did," said Matt Masin, of Williamsville.
Guenther and Masin shared these details on the condition that the public be told that aside from Shapiro's penchant for speeding, he was a good individual.
"The last time I was with Viktor he was at party about 10 days ago. He was drinking that night and he did not drive. He asked me for a ride home," said Masin, who drove Shapiro home.
Guenther said Shapiro was constantly cheerful. "Every single time we saw him, he always had a smile on his face. He was the happiest kid," Guenther said.
At 8:27 p.m. Sunday, Shapiro flew past a stop sign in the northbound lane of Strickler Road and into the intersection with County Road, where the passenger side of his car was T-boned by a westbound minivan traveling approximately 55 mph, according to Joslyn, who released details of the accident investigation at the news conference.
Rumors that Shapiro was involved in a drag race, Joslyn said, have turned out to be untrue based on all of the evidence collected, which includes statements from eyewitnesses.
He said the investigation found Shapiro never attempted to stop at the intersection, based on the fact there were no skid marks.
Driving about 90 mph translates to moving approximately 130 feet per second and had the impact between the van and car occurred a fraction of a second sooner, Shapiro's vehicle would have T-boned the minivan.
Mark Grimmer, the van's driver, told authorities he has no recollection of the crash. Grimmer was released Monday from Erie County Medical Center, and his wife, Bonnie, was transferred Friday from ECMC's intensive care unit to an acute rehab unit for treatment of a fractured hip.
Slisz, the front-seat passenger, was the only one in the car wearing a seat belt, Joslyn said.
With the criminal investigation completed, he said, there is no reason to obtain the cell phone records of Shapiro or the others who died. The fourth victim was Mark Brown, 19.
But Iacono, who was at the news conference, says he plans to take legal steps to obtain the phone records as his firm's private investigation continues.
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