An elderly man driving a blue Chevrolet Cavalier with Medina County license plates died at the scene of an accident this afternoon at state Route 303 and Island Road.
According to the Highway Patrol, the driver who died was an 82-year-old man from Hinckley. They aren’t releasing his identity until family is notified.
The 2001 Cavalier was eastbound on Route 303 when it was struck by an ambulance that was traveling southbound through the intersection with lights and sirens on. A firefighter/EMT who was thrown around in the accident is being taken to Medina General Hospital.
The ambulance had just picked up a 62-year-old man who fell 15 feet from the roof of his home at 16785 S. Island Road. That patient appeared to be relatively OK and has been transferred to another ambulance to go to Medina as well.
Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.
WELLINGTON — Mother Nature may have finally cooled things down, but the Charlie Daniels Band definitely turned up the heat Monday night for the nearly sold-out Lorain County Fair grandstand.
In case fans didn’t know what to expect, the Mount Joliet, Tenn., artist kicked off the evening with a crowd pleaser and his calling card “Redneck Fiddlin’ Man,” which showcased this virtuoso fiddler’s legendary skills. While perhaps positioned as an old-school, country-rock artist, Daniels and his band kept things modern with a slick guitar solo and heavy jamming.
After keeping up the momentum with “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye,” a quintessential Daniels quick-vocal, honky tonk romp, the bearded singer addressed the crowd:
“I do believe it’s boogie woogie time in the Buckeye State.”
Up next was the bluesy “Legend of Wooley Swamp,” featuring Daniels’ booming voice that made the scary tale seem perfect for Halloween campfires.
Swapping his fiddle for a guitar, Daniels showed off his sensitive side with the easygoing “Saddle Tramp.”
The seven-piece act launched into an unexpected bluesy, jazzy jam that if you closed your eyes, you would swear the Allman Brothers Band was on stage.
As impressive as this display was, there seemed to be a segment of the audience caught off guard. The fair folk wanted to sing along, not hear a jam, but it was quite a highlight.
In the middle of a handful of dates on the Sean Hannity Freedom Concert Tour across the country, Daniels didn’t let the evening go by without talking politics. The outspoken artist easily riled up the audience. After quick banter regarding America being the best country in the world, the 73-year-old talked about a television commercial where a woman is attacked in her home and calls the security company.
“There are some things we don’t need to put up with,” Daniels said. “For instance – violent crime. It’s always the same people year after year. All we have to do is get rid of those people. I have some ideas how about going about doing that. For instance, just one time in that commercial I wish instead of picking up that phone, she picked up a .357. Pow! End of problem.”
He quickly launched into his redneck-friendly “Simple Man.”
Out of that track he paid tribute to the troops, recited the “Pledge of Allegiance” and then went right into fast-paced “If You Never Did Think It Would Happen Again.” The audience ate it up and wanted more.
Luckily for them, Daniels wasn’t done. Having just released his new album “Land That I Love,” a compilation of patriotic songs he’s cut over the decades, the North Carolina native performed his updated version of “What This World Needs is a Few More Rednecks,” which was originally released in 1990.
Even though the country music icon has been performing professionally for more than 50 years, he continues to attract new fans, younger fans and not because of his popular Geico insurance commercial.
“I love country music, I’ve seen him at least five times,” said Avon resident Bri Spier, 28. “If he’s close by to here, I’m in. I think it’s the fiddle sound that makes him so popular. At least that’s what I know him mostly for.”
Her boyfriend Josh Armbrecht, 26, also of Avon, concurred.
“I love his fiddle playing and his sound,” he said.
Daniels ended with his signature tune “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” leaving fans young and old playing air fiddle and humming their way home.
ELYRIA — A Lorain man has been indicted on aggravated vehicular homicide, DUI and other charges in a July crash that killed another Lorain man.
Michael Meeks, 23, is accused of hitting a scooter ridden by Thomas Gault, 46, on July 4 with his 2001 Ford Explorer on Elyria Avenue in Lorain. Gault died the next day.
Police have said that Meeks fled the scene and when he was caught by police he had a blood al-cohol level of .171, more than twice the legal driving limit of .08.
CLEVELAND — In a lost season for the Indians, they may have found a gem for their pitching staff.
Jeanmar Gomez came through with another fine performance Thursday night, allowing one run and six hits in six-plus innings, as the Tribe posted a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore was bidding for its first three-game sweep in Cleveland since April 1987 — before the 22-year-old Gomez was even born — but was unable to solve the rookie from Venezuela.
“He’s mature beyond his age and he’s able to slow things down out there on the mound,” Indians manager Manny Acta said of his blossoming righthander. “He’s already given us four quality starts and continues to go out there fearless. One thing we know already is he’s not going to back down when guys hit him around.”
Gomez (3-0, 1.54 ERA) was in command all evening against the Orioles, who had their season-high winning streak snapped at four. He faced the minimum number of batters through 4 2 / 3 innings, finishing his outing with three strikeouts and no walks.
In the process, Gomez became just the fourth Tribe pitcher since 1920 to win three of his first four MLB appearances, joining Jim “Mudcat” Grant (1958), Wynn Hawkins (1960) and Scott Lewis (2008).
“He has good, late life on his fastball and he pounded the strike zone,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “I was impressed. I can see why they’re so high on him.”
Rafael Perez and Chris Perez followed with three innings of hitless relief to snap Cleveland’s four-game losing skid. It was Chris Perez’s team-high 14th save and came in front of 14,533 fans (who consumed 18,932 $1 hot dogs).
Center fielder Michael Brantley ignited the Indians’ offense with a career high-tying four hits, one run and one stolen base. Left fielder Trevor Crowe, batting in the five spot for the first time, added two hits and two RBIs.
After Gomez left the game with a 3-1 lead, the Tribe tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Orioles third baseman Josh Bell failed to stop a smash by Andy Marte for an error, which proved costly when Asdrubal Cabrera brought him home three batters later.
“Brantley set the tone really well, Crowe did a fantastic job driving guys in, and that hit by Cabrera was huge,” Acta said.
Baltimore starter Kevin Millwood — the 2005 American League ERA champion with Cleveland — continued his quest for a far different crown by allowing three runs and nine hits in seven innings.
Millwood (2-12, 5.74 ERA) took over sole possession of the AL lead in losses, breaking a seven-way tie for first place, and fell to 1-8 on the road. The veteran right-hander’s last win came June 24.
“I felt like I at least kept us in the game,” Millwood said. “I guess I have to pick a better night to pitch on when we score more runs.”
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Crowe beat out an infield single with two down, allowing Brantley to score from third. Crowe reached the bag a split-second before the throw from Baltimore shortstop Cesar Izturis.
Tribe catcher Lou Marson made it 2-0 in the second with an RBI groundout that scored Jason Donald.
In the fifth, Shin-Soo Choo was hit squarely on the right hand by a Millwood pitch. He came around when Crowe doubled off the base of the wall in left-center field to extend Cleveland’s lead to 3-0.
The Orioles finally broke through against Gomez in the top of the sixth when Ty Wigginton’s two-out single scored Bell, who had led off with a double.
