Tatiana Tchekina, 69, dies in wrong-way crash on I-490

A 69-year-old Rochester woman was killed and her 71-year-old husband injured early Saturday when their vehicle was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on eastbound Interstate 490 near Exit 6 in Gates.

According to Cpl. John Helfer of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Tatiana Tchekina died at the scene after the Volkswagen sport-utility vehicle she was driving was struck by a car driven by Thomas Rome, 37, of Kirkwood, Broome County. Helfer said Rome, who suffered serious injuries, was unconscious at the scene, but smelled of alcohol.

Charges against Rome are pending, Helfer said.

Tchekina's husband, Oleh Krysa, was a passenger in the Volkswagen and he suffered minor injuries. Krysa was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Tchekina was an assistant professor of accompanying at the Eastman School of Music, while Krysa is a professor of violin at the school, according to their biographies on the school's website.

Tchekina's biography says she was born in Moscow to a family of singers and has performed as a pianist all over the world with her husband since 1967. In a 2008 Democrat and Chronicle story, Krysa called Rochester "a special place."

Helfer said a 911 dispatcher broadcast information about 1:30 a.m. about a vehicle traveling the wrong way on I-490 at Route 531. A short time later, deputies received a call for a crash involving a number of vehicles on eastbound I-490 at Exit 6.

Rome, who was alone in his 2005 Toyota Prius, suffered a possible broken femur and a severe injury to his left arm. He was taken to Strong for treatment, Helfer said.

After the crash, both vehicles went into a spin, Helfer said. A pickup truck traveling behind the Volkswagen clipped the back driver's side of the Volkswagen as it was spinning. Two other vehicles driving behind the pickup ran over debris, damaging those vehicles.

There were no injuries in the other vehicles, Helfer said.

It is the second fatal wrong-way crash on I-490 in two weeks. On Nov. 23, Khadijah McKenzie, 19, of Gates died at Strong Memorial Hospital when the sport-utility vehicle she was driving was struck by a vehicle traveling the wrong way on I-490 near downtown Rochester.

Two days later, Robert B. Rector, 30, of Fairport, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, both felonies, and driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. He was also issued a traffic infraction for driving the wrong way on a one-way roadway.

In other areas of the state, high-tech efforts are underway to combat wrong-way driving on the state Thruway.

A system linked to Doppler radar and designed by state Thruway Authority workers is being installed at the Thruway's Buffalo exit at the Niagara Expressway, also identified as Interstate 190. The second stage will be installed in Rockland County's Nyack, the site of several serious wrong-way crashes. More exits will soon get the systems along the 570-mile interstate highway.

"New York is the first state in the nation to utilize this sophisticated technology to enhance traffic safety and save lives," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D'Amico said the technology will save lives.

Doppler radar will be used to detect vehicles traveling the wrong way onto the Thruway. That will trigger a flashing LED sign to alert the driver and tell them to pull over and turn around when safe to do so. Other Thruway drivers will be alerted by other signs and the Thruway's Statewide Operations Center will get an alert that can be shared with local police.

The system was developed by Thruway engineer Steve Velicky and made by Fiberdyne Labs in Frankfort and by Herkimer Industries in central New York.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.