The New York State Police are investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash that occurred early Sunday morning at the intersection of State Route 224 and State Route 13 in the town of Cayuta, Schuyler County. 

New York State Police report that on July 5, 2026, at approximately 4:58 a.m., State Police from Dundee and Montour Falls responded to a report of a serious personal injury motor vehicle crash at the intersection. 

The preliminary investigation determined that a 2023 Tesla, operated by a 25-year-old, was traveling northbound on State Route 224 when it failed to stop for a red traffic signal and entered the intersection. The Tesla was struck by an eastbound 2023 Dodge Charger, operated by 52 year old Bryan J Woodworth of Elmira, who was traveling on State Route 13 with a green traffic signal. 

The Tesla was occupied by four individuals. A passenger who was seated in the rear of the vehicle was pronounced dead at Robert Packer Hospital. 

The operator of the Tesla sustained serious non-life-threatening injuries and was transported from Guthrie Corning Hospital to Robert Packer Hospital for additional treatment. Two passengers were also transported to Robert Packer Hospital, one for serious life-threatening injuries and one was evaluated and reported to have no apparent injuries. 

The operator of the Dodge Charger was transported to Arnot Ogden Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. 

The investigation into the crash remains ongoing. State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Forensic Identification Unit responded to assist with the investigation. 
 

I'm still trying to figure out when 224 became N/S

31 minutes ago, KarenK said:

I'm still trying to figure out when 224 became N/S

Me too.

And identifying the victim, but not the offender is also odd.

I guess the name to watch for once charges are announced is MADHU MALA of EDISON, NJ

https://publicapps.troopers.ny.gov/media/TroopE/MediaSun3.pdf

2 hours ago, KarenK said:

I'm still trying to figure out when 224 became N/S

If memory serves me correctly, it’s not uncommon to not name the other driver if there’s no charges. Sometimes they do, it just depends on who wrote up the report I think.

1 minute ago, Chris said:

If memory serves me correctly, it’s not uncommon to not name the other driver if there’s no charges. Sometimes they do, it just depends on who wrote up the report I think.

They usually only name the driver who they're charging.....and tend to withhold names of anyone who is not at fault. This is backwards from what I usually see.

Here, they did not name the person at fault (driving the Tesla who failed to stop for a red light)......who we'd expect should be charged since it resulted in the death of one of their passengers (as well as what's probably going to be lasting mental trauma for Mr. Woodworth).

But they did name the guy who was not at fault, driving the Charger....who we should certainly hope is not being charged since they clearly reiterated that he had a green light.

3 hours ago, Elmira Telegram said:

The preliminary investigation determined that a 2023 Tesla, operated by a 25-year-old, was traveling northbound on State Route 224 when it failed to stop for a red traffic signal and entered the intersection. The Tesla was struck by an eastbound 2023 Dodge Charger, operated by 52 year old Bryan J Woodworth of Elmira, who was traveling on State Route 13 with a green traffic signal. 

Edited July 6Jul 6 by MsKreed

Ah, I see what you mean now. I got things a little confuzzled there.

4 minutes ago, Chris said:

Ah, I see what you mean now. I got things a little confuzzled there.

Yeah...the press release is what's confuzzled.

I could understand not naming the Tesla driver if (and only if) they aren't being charged because they ran the light as a result of some medical emergency. But even then....naming the other driver (who is not at fault) seems to go against precedent.

W the actual F, WETM?!?

Here’s the actual update from NYSP:

The preliminary investigation determined that a 2023 Tesla, operated by 25-year-old Madhu Mala, of New Jersey, was traveling northbound on State Route 224 when it failed to stop for a red traffic signal and entered the intersection. The Tesla was struck by an eastbound 2023 Dodge Charger, operated by Bryan J Woodworth, age 52, of Elmira, NY, who was traveling on State Route 13 with a green traffic signal. 

The Tesla was occupied by four individuals. A passenger, Prasanna Atlur, age 31, of New Jersey, who was seated in the rear of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at Robert Packer Hospital. 

The operator of the Tesla sustained serious non-life-threatening injuries and was transported from Guthrie Corning Hospital to Robert Packer Hospital for additional treatment. Two passengers, Akhil Valluri, age 31, of New Jersey, and Jathin Kolla, age 24, of New Jersey, were also transported to Robert Packer Hospital, one for serious life-threatening injuries and one was evaluated and reported to have no apparent injuries. 

The operator of the Dodge Charger was transported to Arnot Ogden Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. 

Now, my eyes aren’t what they used to be but nowhere do I see a single mention of Woolworth's occupation in the press release.

20 minutes ago, Chris said:

Now, my eyes aren’t what they used to be but nowhere do I see a single mention of Woolworth's occupation in the press release.

They must have seen this Press Release from the AG's OSI website.... Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Opens Investigation into Civilian Death in Schuyler County and decided to be as sensational as possible with their clickbait headline.

I sure hope Tish's report includes video from the Tesla when their witch hunt investigation is completed and published.

That policy is BS on its own.

Looking at this from the perspective of running a two bit wanna-be news site, I still wouldn’t have included that information in the original story. Not only because the state police news release clearly indicates who was at fault, but also because it feels sleazy and exploitative.

10 minutes ago, Chris said:

That policy is BS on its own merits.

Looking at this from the perspective of running a two bit wanna-be news site, I still wouldn’t have included that information in the original story. Not only because the state police news release clearly indicates who was at fault, but also because it feels sleazy and exploitative.

I agree.

As a Libertarian, I do understand the reason for the policy. An independent review shows due diligence and removes any public suspicion that LEOs are "getting away" with something.

In principle, the process should be as much to exonerate him (and the Agency) as to condemn. And that's why even the AG press release doesn't identify him by name.

WETM gleaned his identity by adding the two reports together and chose the slimy Yellow Journalism route. But we kinda knew that from the fact that they'd already chosen to publish the name the local "white guy" instead of the driver at fault in the original article....before the AG announced anything.

Edited July 8Jul 8 by MsKreed