An 82-year-old Elyria man has died after he ran a stop sign and crashed into another car at an intersection where a 16-year-old died a year ago.

Paul Skeen, 82, of Elyria was flown to MetroHealth in Cleveland, according to the State Highway Patrol. He reportedly lost consciousness at the scene. Powell Caesar from the Cuyahoga County coroner’s office confirmed this morning that Skeen has died.

According to reports from state troopers, Skeen was heading north on Whitehead Road in a red Ford Focus when he ran the stop sign at state Route 303. Skeen collided with a black Honda Accord driven by 73-year-old Donald Marsh of Sylvania. Marsh was heading east on Route 303.

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The force of the collision sent both cars off the road and into the small field on the northeast side of the intersection.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts, and there were no passengers in either car.

Marsh was driven to Allen Community Hospital but was not admitted.

Skeen’s car landed eerily close to the cross placed near the intersection in memory of Molly Webber, who was killed in a collision at the intersection on Oct. 14 of last year.

Webber was a passenger in a Toyota RAV4 driven by 17-year-old Rachel Salyer, also of LaGrange. They were on Route 303 when they were struck by a Honda CRV driven by 17-year-old Ethan Frey, also of LaGrange. Webber died instantly from head and neck injuries from the impact, and also suffered a crushed pelvis and chest injuries.

The Ohio Department of Transportation was reported to be considering making this intersection a four-way stop after Webber’s death but has not done so yet. Prior to Webber’s death, there had been eight crashes at that intersection between 2005 and 2008.

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

BEREA — With a 1-5 record, the Browns need all the practice time they can get.

But with at least 12 players, including six starters, out with the flu, coach Eric Mangini was forced to scale back practice Wednesday. The sick players were told not to report to the team facility to prevent further spreading of the illness.

Mangini said many of the cases hit Wednesday morning and that he didn’t know if they the H1N1 virus. He also said medical laws might prevent him from revealing if the players have the swine flu.

“We’re trying to, first signs of any type of illness, get the guys home and out of the building,” he said. “We’re working as hard as we can to promote things to prevent the illness.”

The absent starters were: nose tackle Shaun Rogers, center Alex Mack, safety Brodney Pool, tight end Robert Royal, fullback Lawrence Vickers and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, who was sent home from Pittsburgh on Sunday morning and missed the game with the flu. Rogers got sick Sunday morning but played. He was driven home from Pittsburgh separate from the rest of the team.

The others out sick: running back Jerome Harrison, defensive back Anthony Madison, receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik, defensive end Corey Williams and practice squad defensive end Brian Schaefering.

“We’re stressing the importance of sleep and (washing) hands and things like that,” Mangini said. “It’s that time of year. Unfortunately we have quite a few guys who are dealing with it. We’ll adjust practice, work around it, continue to move forward on Green Bay.”

The NFL instituted a policy earlier in the season in case a team was hammered by the H1N1 virus. If a team has at least six players unable to play because of confirmed cases of swine flu, it can promote a maximum of eight players from its practice squad without releasing players from the 53-man roster. The deadline is four hours prior to kickoff.

“This procedure does not apply to any other type of flu or illness,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

The players that were left in the locker room seemed to take the issue in stride.

“I just think there’s a little bit more of a hype to it right now just because of what’s been going on out in the real world,” receiver Mike Furrey said. “But for in here right now, we have a bunch of guys who’re sick and not feeling good so they might as well take care of it early before it spreads around to everybody.”

Read Thursday’s Chronicle for more on the Browns.

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

There are some new top administrators in the Midview Schools — including new principals in the high school and middle school — following Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Tom Faska was named high school principal replacing 10-year veteran principal Susan Bobola, who was named administrative director of facilities, technology and security.

John Brown became principal at the middle school, replacing Scott Goggin, who became administrative director of professional education services.

Both Faska and Brown had served as assistant principals.

The reorganization, which includes additional reassignments, is the result of the earlier resignation of Dr. Cathy Pugh, director of curriculum and technology, who accepted a job as assistant superintendent at Lorain County Joint Vocational School.

Read Thursday’s paper for more on this story.

ELYRIA — Firefighters responded to a fire at Bluestar Metal Recycling on Williams Street a little before 9 this morning.

A scrap car in the Williams Street business’ junkyard was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived. A Bobcat was used to right the car, which was on its side, and the fire was out within minutes.

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