GIRARD - A police dispatcher was killed early Wednesday when his car ran into the back of a salt truck on Interstate 80, police said.
"Dispatcher (Thomas) Zuppo was an integral part of the department and a friend to all that work here,'' a statement from the Girard Police Department. ''Tom Zuppo will be sadly missed and our department's thoughts and prayers go out to the family members he has left behind."
Police Chief Jeffrey Palmer in a telephone interview said, ''It's a tragic thing to happen. We're all in a state of shock, I think.''
Zuppo, 47, began with the city in 1998 before becoming full-time in 2003. According to police Capt. John Villecco, Zuppo had been scheduled off for the past two days at the time of the accident.
The accident occurred just after midnight when Zuppo's Pontiac Grand Prix, ''traveling at a high rate of speed,'' struck an Ohio Department of Transportation salt truck on I-80 near Girard and caught fire, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Mahoning County Coroner's Office. He was wearing his seat belt, the patrol report noted.
Thomas Hofus Jr., 42 of Boardman, the driver of the salt truck sustained only minor injuries.
The crash remains under investigation by the Canfield Post of the state patrol.
Though not mentioned by the Highway Patrol, it's possible that weather also may have had a role in the crash. WYTV meteorologist and news anchor Stan Boney said Wednesday night that conditions were right to create patches of ice along the roads.
Zuppo leaves behind a wife, stepchildren and grandchildren, according to the Girard Police Department. He was the son of Anthony Zuppo, who retired from the Girard Police in 2003 after 35 years of service. McClurkin Funeral Home in Girard will be handling the funeral arrangements, a receptionist there confirmed, but arrangements have yet to be announced.
Mayor James Melfi described Zuppo as someone with a calm, low-key personality who was good interacting with those who needed police help.
"(Dispatchers) are the ones who interact with the public more than anyone else. He was a nice, quiet person with a gentleman-like personality. He always had a smile on his face," Melfi said.