Motorcyclist Killed in Tragic Collision on Bartlett Road in Westmoreland

WESTMORELAND, NY — July 11, 2025 — Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a fatal crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV on Bartlett Road in the Town of Westmoreland around 6 p.m.

According to investigators, 20-year-old William Ballou of Westmoreland was riding his 2024 Kawasaki motorcycle northbound on Bartlett Road when a Honda CRV, driven by 79-year-old Lorraine Madell of Clinton, pulled out from a residential driveway and into the roadway. Ballou’s motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the SUV in a violent collision.

Despite the immediate response from emergency crews, Ballou was pronounced dead at the scene. Madell was transported to Rome Hospital for a medical evaluation. Her current condition has not been released.

The crash prompted a full-scale investigation, with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit, Forensic Identification Unit, and Accident Reconstruction Unit all working to piece together exactly what happened. The cause of the crash remains under active investigation.

Fire and EMS crews from Stanwix Heights, Westmoreland Volunteer Fire Departments, and Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps assisted at the scene, which remained closed for several hours.