A Cleveland couple who were in this Buick LeSabre died Oct. 1 when it apparently lost control and collided with a utility truck on Lorain Road. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Car-truck collision claims two lives
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published Oct. 8, 2008

A Cleveland man apparently lost control of his car Oct. 1, causing the vehicle to go left of center across two lanes and collide with a utility truck on Lorain Road, causing injuries which resulted in the death of the man and his wife, officials said.

Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office Spokesman Powell Caesar said Monday that William Burkhart,  73, of West 162nd Street in Cleveland, died as a result of blunt trauma injuries caused when he lost control of his 2004 Buick LeSabre while driving west on Lorain Road near West 230th Street. Police said the Buick went left of center and collided with a First Energy truck going east on Lorain Road. In addition, Caesar said the heavy impact also severely injured Burkhart’s wife Mary, 73, as well, causing injuries resulting in her death.

Caesar said there was nothing in the autopsy report to indicate why Burkhart might have lost control of the vehicle, only that he died from the blunt trauma caused by the impact of the vehicles.  Safety officials said the driver of the utility truck was transported to St. John West Shore Hospital, where he was checked for minor injuries and released.

“It was a pretty bad accident,” said North Olmsted Fire Chief Tom Klecan. “Unfortunately, the couple’s vehicle took the brunt of it. Both vehicles had a lot of damage, but a car isn’t going to take an impact with a truck well.”

Police Capt. Jamie Gallagher said both vehicles were traveling in the range of between 35 to 40 miles per hour. He said officers have not been able to determine why Burkhart lost control of the vehicle shortly before 2 p.m. and went across the lanes before colliding with the truck.

“There’s no indications of other problems for him or anything which would cause him to lose control like that,” Gallagher said.

He said a toxicology report due later might shed some light on the matter.