Eastside man arrested after crash takes down mail boxes

John Patch (Rochester Police photo)

COPYRIGHT 2017© EAST ROCHESTER - An East Rochester man who crashed his car into a Salmon Falls Road ditch on Monday ended up being charged with negligent driving and conduct after an accident.

Police log information shows the call came in for a reported accident on Salmon Falls Road between Whitehall Road and Tara Estates a little after 10 p.m.

When police arrived they found the man's green SUV in a ditch, with no lights on and the driver inside.

After a brief investigation in what is currently a road construction area they found that the driver, John Patch, 24, of 4 Country Ridge Estates, had apparently swerved off the road, struck a couple of mail boxes and possibly some other debris that caused one of the SUV's tires to shred.

Patch was charged with violation-level negligent driving for operating the vehicle after the tire was gone, which led to the crash into the ditch, police said.

The misdemeanor conduct after an accident was for allegedly taking down the mail boxes and not reporting the property damage accident to police.

Patch will be arraigned in June.