By Adam Mawson
The Morning Journal
GRAFTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — An 82-year-old Hinckley man was killed after his Chevrolet Cavalier collided with an ambulance transporting a patient around 12:10 p.m. yesterday, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Travis Hughes.
Hughes said the ambulance was heading south on Island Road and was crossing the intersection of SR 303 when it struck the Cavalier, which was heading east. After the collision, both vehicles went off the road, coming to rest in a ditch on the southeast corner of the intersection.
The driver of the Cavalier, Zygmunt Pacyna, was pronounced dead at the scene due to severe multiple blunt force trauma, according to Lorain County Coroner Dr. Paul Matus. He was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, Hughes said.
The lights and sirens were turned on when the ambulance was crossing the intersection, according to Hughes.
Two Grafton Township firefighters were in the ambulance along with the patient, according to Assistant Chief Tim Adams.
Hughes said Richard Robertson, 26, of Cleveland, was driving and Thomas Smolilo, 52, of Grafton, was the passenger. The patient was Robert Kowalski, 61, of Grafton, who was being transported after a fall.
All three were taken to the hospital as Eaton Township paramedics helped transport them. Smolilo and Kowalski were taken to Medina Hospital, where they both were treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Robertson was taken to EMH Regional Medical Center. Robertson has been treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The speeds the vehicles were traveling have yet to be determined and drugs or alcohol are not believed to be a factor, according to Hughes. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and had to be towed. The crash remains under investigation.
Grafton Township Fire Department declined comment yesterday.
Republished with permission from The Morning Journal News