Syracuse, N.Y. — A man killed early Tuesday when a stolen minivan crashed into a telephone pole in Syracuse has been identified, deputies said.
Taijon M. Williams, 31, of Syracuse, was driving the minivan when it crashed on Erie Boulevard while he was fleeing Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office deputies, according to Thomas Newton, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
The fatal crash stemmed from a traffic stop by Syracuse police shortly before 2:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Grand Avenue, according to Kieran Coffey, a Syracuse Police Department spokesperson. Officers stopped the minivan because it had been reported stolen.
While officers were waiting for another city police unit to arrive, the minivan fled, Coffey said. Syracuse police did not pursue the vehicle.
A city officer reported that a sheriff’s deputy patrol car initiated a pursuit almost simultaneously after the vehicle fled, Coffey said.
Deputies saw the stolen minivan in the area and attempted to stop it on Avery Avenue, Newton said.
The minivan continued east on West Genesee Street before turning onto Erie Boulevard West, where the driver lost control while negotiating a curve and hit a telephone pole near 1008 Erie Blvd., Newton said.
Williams was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman who was a passenger in the minivan was ejected during the crash and taken to Upstate University Hospital with minor injuries, Newton said.
Erie Boulevard was closed for nearly eight hours following the crash.
The Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations is conducting a preliminary assessment, as required in any incident involving police and a death.
National Grid works to repair a power line and telephone pole near 1008 Erie Boulevard West where a car crashed and a man died following a vehicle pursuit involving the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.Finn Lincoln