2 hit by car are severely injured
SALEM -- Two men sustained severe injuries early today when they were deliberately struck by a car driven by a third man, police said.
An unidentified Salem officer witnessed the accident, which occurred at 2 a.m. today on North Ellsworth Avenue.
The men are all area residents, according to Salem Police Chief C.M. Weitz.
The two men were hit after an argument with the third man a few minutes earlier outside Scanlon's, a bar at 241 E. State St.
Police said the two men were walking north on North Ellsworth Avenue at the Salem Plaza on East Second Street.
A Salem police officer was sitting in his cruiser in the plaza parking lot monitoring traffic. The car came out of another nearby parking lot and struck the men in front of the officer.
Police did not release the names of the two men pending notification of their relatives. One was flown to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown and the second was flown to Akron City Hospital.
The driver was in Salem Community Hospital for treatment of a head injury. He has not been charged.