A Town and County Fire District lieutenant was killed Friday night while helping at a roadway incident.
Lt. Paul Mickolick, 43, was on scene helping a 33-year-old driver whose vehicle had gotten stuck in a ditch around 10:30 p.m. in Wooster.
The Ohio State Patrol told News 5 Cleveland that a Cadillac CTS, driven by a 66-year-old man, drove off the road and struck Mickolick and the 33-year-old.
Both were rushed to the hospital with multiple injuries. The original driver was transferred by helicopter to another medical center.
In a statement from the department, Mickolick died Saturday morning.
Mickolick, a former flight paramedic, joined the fire district in 2022.
"Lieutenant Mickolick exemplified, courage, integrity, and selflessness both on and off duty,” Chief Adam Hory said. "One can only imagine the countless number of lives. He has impact it through his dedicated service."
"(He) was a mentor, a brother and a true hero his passion for the fire service and his deep-rooted dedication to this community will never be forgotten. We will honor his legacy by continuing to serve with the same bravery and compassion. He showed every day," Hory added.
Mickolick leaves behind a family, including young children.
The Ohio State patrol is investigating the accident.
Peter Matthews | Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.
