The Grafton Township ambulance driver involved in a fatal accident Sept. 15 could be charged.
The investigative report of the Grafton Township crash that left an 82-year-old Hinckley man dead has been forwarded to the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Trooper Scott Powers, of the Elyria Highway Patrol Post.
Powers said Grafton Township ambulance driver Richard Robertson, 26, of Cleveland, was at fault for the crash at the intersection of Island Road and SR 303 because he failed to yield at the stop sign at the intersection. Zygmunt Pacyna, who was driving a Chevrolet Cavalier west on SR 303, was struck by the ambulance and pronounced dead at the scene, according to Lorain County Coroner Dr. Paul Matus.
According to Ohio law, even though an ambulance has its lights and sirens flashing, the driver must exercise caution and “due regard” for stop signs, stop lights or any intersection. The reconstruction of the crash was finished Nov. 1, Powers said, and the case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office last week.
Powers said any time a crash involves a fatality or serious injury, the Highway Patrol always confers with the prosecutor’s office as to what action should be taken, rather than issue an immediate citation.
Powers said the ambulance was travelling south on Island Road going approximately 20 mph and the eastbound Cavalier was traveling 53 mph. Both drivers were going below the legal posted speed limit.
Grafton Township trustee Jean Haight said yesterday she had not heard Robertson was at fault for the crash.
Grafton Township fire Chief Bob Roberts and Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will did not return calls seeking comment.
