A 61-year-old man died Monday afternoon following a single-car crash on Fourth Street near Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler.

City police believe the driver, Keith D. Mahan of Penn Township, apparently was stricken with some kind of medical emergency, and that caused him to lose control of his Ford Escort just before 1 p.m.

He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police said Mahan was southbound on Fourth Street traveling down the hill when he suffered his apparent medical condition, possibly a heart attack. Mahan’s vehicle sideswiped another car parked on the side of the road.

“There was very minor damage to his car,” said Butler police Officer Nicholas Shulik. Investigators found only paint transfer from the other vehicle and scratch marks on the Escort. The car’s air bag did not deploy.

Despite his unknown emergency, Mahan managed to apply the brakes and stop his runaway car.

When police got there they found Mahan slumped over the steering wheel.

“He was unconscious but still breathing,” Shulik said.

The car was running and Mahan’s foot was still on the brake pedal.

Police said if Mahan had not managed to stop the car, the vehicle likely would have continued through the intersection with East Brady Street and possibly into a hospital-owned parking lot.

A crew for nearby Butler Ambulance Service was at the scene in seconds and immediately treated Mahan before he was taken to the hospital.

Police said they later notified Mahan’s next of kin, a brother in Middlesex Township, about what happened.