Published: April 11, 2007 02:00 am      

CRIME: State judge caught after hit-and-run on High St.

State Supreme Court Judge Amy Jo Fricano was charged Monday with driving while impaired by drugs in connection with a hit-and-run accident Monday afternoon on High Street.

Fricano, 52, was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to keep right and making an unsafe lane change after she allegedly struck an electric pole and fled the scene.

Fricano admitted to police she was taking several prescription medications, including hydrocodone.

The accident occurred near Emmet Belknap Middle School at High Street and Hyde Park about 5:30 p.m. Witnesses reported seeing a dark blue Chevrolet Trailblazer, driven by a woman, strike the NYSEG pole and then drive away, heading east on High Street.

The pole was sheared off at the base, leaving wires hanging in the roadway, the police report said. Several pieces of the SUV were left behind.

A High Street resident who declined to give her name said she saw the blue SUV just after the accident.

“My dog started barking,” the woman said. “I looked out the window and the (pole) was dangling. She hit right into it.”

The woman said she saw the SUV idling near the pole for a few moments before taking off.

“She drove off as fast as she could,” the woman said.

Lockport police responded to the scene and blocked off the road. NYSEG was notified of the incident.

NYSEG spokesman Randy Edwards said about 1,200 customers were without power for some period of time.

Most — about 1,000 — had power back by 7 p.m., but some customers in the area of High Street, Akron Road and Roosevelt Drive were without power until about 11 p.m.

“We had to replace the pole,” Edwards said. “It took a while to get a pole out and reset and rewire everything.”



The traffic stop

Police sent out a request to local agencies for help in finding the suspect vehicle.

At 5:31 p.m., Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Dunn saw an SUV matching the description turning from Magnolia Drive onto East High Street.

Dunn followed the SUV and reported noticing it had extensive damage to its front passenger side. The SUV reportedly crossed the center line before turning onto Ernest Road, at which time Dunn pulled over the vehicle.

Sheriff Thomas Beilein said Fricano, who was driving alone, admitted hitting the utility pole.

“She gave no explanations as to why she hit the pole or why she left the scene,” Beilein said.

Lockport police officers and state troopers responded to the scene of the traffic stop to assist Dunn, who reported that Fricano was slurring her words and exhibiting other signs of being under the influence.

Dunn administered two field sobriety tests, which Fricano passed — though she allegedly failed a horizontal gaze test administered by an officer.

At that point, Fricano reportedly said she had been taking several prescription medications, including hydrocodone.

No drugs were found on Fricano or in the SUV, Beilein said.



Sobriety testing

Fricano was transported to the sheriff’s department for further testing.

A breathalyzer test ruled out the presence of alcohol, but Fricano allegedly failed four of five additional sobriety tests administered by a state trooper, the report said.

Fricano would not consent to a blood test to determine if there were drugs in her system.

“She was given the opportunity twice to consent to the blood test,” Beilein said. “The only thing we have is her statement to the deputy at the scene that she had taken hydrocodone. We can’t know. With her refusal to consent to take a blood test, we won’t know, either.”

She was additionally charged with refusal to submit to a chemical test.

Deputies transported Fricano to Lockport Town Court on Monday night, and she was arraigned in front of Justice Leonard Tilney Jr.

Fricano’s driver’s license was suspended and she was released on her own recognizance. Beilein said deputies drove her home.



Possible painkillers

Beilein said he knew Fricano had ongoing health problems, but could not comment on them specifically.

“I know that Judge Fricano has suffered health problems on and off,” he said. “When she took (the pills), how she took them, how many she took, I have no comment.”

A representative from the Erie County Court Clerk’s office said Fricano was not on the bench in her downtown Buffalo court on Monday.

Though the arrest report lists Fricano’s address as Linwood Avenue in Buffalo, Beilein said she also has a residence in the Town of Lockport.

If convicted of driving while ability impaired by drugs, a misdemeanor, Fricano faces a maximum of one year in jail.

She is scheduled for appearances May 1 in both Lockport Town Court and Lockport City Court.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, Ext. 6251.