LORAIN — A Lorain man died after a crash involving three cars Wednesday afternoon near St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.
Larry Durasin, 52, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which shut down parts of East Erie and Kansas avenues as rescue crews worked to remove the wreckage of three cars.
Andrew Jones, 32, of Huron, was LifeFlighted to a Cleveland hospital, where he was listed in fair condition this morning.
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Matus said Durasin, who was wearing a seat belt and was surrounded by deployed airbags, suffered severe multiple blunt force trauma, including internal injuries.
The accident happened about 2:50 p.m. — roughly 20 minutes after dismissal time for students from St. Anthony School.
Durasin, who was driving a silver Ford Taurus, was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection facing west on East Erie when he was struck from behind by a gray Chevrolet Malibu driven by Jones, according to Lorain police Sgt. Lawrence Meek.
The impact pushed Durasin’s car into a utility pole and sent Jones’ car into the intersection, where it collided with a silver Dodge pickup turning left from Kansas Avenue.
The pickup, which sustained the least amount of damage, came to rest on the church’s front lawn. The pickup’s driver, Dwight Clark, 42, Lorain, was not hurt.
A utility pole was sheared off but remained upright. It caused the power in the neighborhood to flicker off for a few seconds, alerting residents to the nearby collision.
“First I heard the crash, and then the electricity just went off for a quick second,” said Mitch Berlingeri, who lives about a block away from the accident. “But when I looked outside, I just saw a mist of smoke and people coming out of their homes.”
Video Berlingeri took at the scene:
Matus said Durasin had to be removed by Lorain firefighters.
Jones was taken by LifeCare to Community Regional Medical Center in Lorain then transported by medical helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.
According to Lorain fire Capt. Jeff Fenn, he was conscious and talking at the scene.
All three men were alone in their vehicles.
No one has been charged, and the accident remains under investigation, Lorain police said this morning.
At about the same time, an accident involving a tractor-trailer shut down state Route 57 southbound in South Lorain.
The driver of the semi hit the brakes and lost control of his load of pipe, according to a Lorain police officer, who was diverting traffic at the scene. Route 57 was shut down between Homewood Drive and East 42nd Street as a crew worked to clear the pipes from the road.
Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.
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