Passenger dies in crash
A man was killed Saturday afternoon when the truck he was a passenger in slammed into a concrete abutment in Lyndora, authorities said.
James Ross, 56, of Lyndora was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy determined he died of fractures to the head, neck and trunk, said Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr.
The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was flown to an unspecified hospital with serious injuries.
Witness Frank Sydlik said he had left his apartment in the old Standard Insulating building to go to work at the Lyndora Hotel across Main Street.
As he was about to cross the street shortly after 1 p.m., he heard a sound coming from his left up the hill. He saw a green pickup truck careening down the hill, picking up speed as it came toward Hansen Avenue where Main Street abruptly ends at a concrete abutment.
The truck slammed into the abutment. According to police, the driver was severely injured, and he was eventually evacuated by Life Flight.
“I just heard this strange sound, a bunch of clanging, and I look to my left and I seen him coming down. I was one step away from him hitting me,” Sydlik said. He watched as the truck drove straight into the concrete wall.“That truck folded in half,” Sydlik said.Doug Fedokovitz was sitting on the porch of his house nearby when he also saw the truck coming down Main Street.“I mean he was flying,” Fedokovitz said. “Then I heard a big 'poof.' I thought, no way, but then I came down and saw.”Fedokovitz said he ran down the street, opened the driver's door and pulled a man who he estimated to be in his 50s out of the vehicle.“The other guy in the passenger seat, we couldn't get to him. They had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out,” he said.Jaws of Life refers to a heavy-duty tool that acts like a pair of scissors or a spreader to cut through most automotive metal.Police later confirmed that Ross was killed.“He was very frail looking and super thin,” Fedokovitz said of the passenger and then paused to look at his gray tank top.“It looks like I got some oil from the car on my shirt,” he said, but then later he looked more closely and realized it was blood.After emergency responders arrived, a Life Flight helicopter was called because of the driver's injuries. A helicopter touched down soon after in a parking lot near Sherwood Lanes.An accident reconstruction team was called to the scene, but no further information was available Saturday evening.
