Flooding reaches 4-foot level in spots

By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Anthony Fronzaglio likes a challenge, but he and his Chevy S-10 were no match for about 4 feet of water pooled on Steel Street near Salt Springs Road.
"I thought that I had to try it," Fronzaglio said shortly after he and neighborhood kids pushed his vehicle out of the water. "I went too fast, and the pressure of the water pushed me back as I drove. I tried to go forward. I'm a nut. I like stuff like this."
Fronzaglio was among a half-dozen or so motorists who failed in attempts Friday to get through the brown-colored water at the corner, near railroad tracks.
Fronzaglio's vehicle got about one-third of the way through the flooded area with water rising above the headlights before it died. Fronzaglio had his hands on his head in amazement as he climbed out of the S-10's driver's side window with smoke coming out of its front hood.
Though Fronzaglio and the others failed to make it through the water, other vehicles -- including an 18-wheeler and a Youngstown waste water truck -- succeeded.
Business's loss
John Habcic, owner of Steel Street Choppers, saw this problem coming. This is the fourth flood in the past 18 months for the area near his motorcycle shop on Steel Street near Salt Springs Road.
"We've got some items in our storage area destroyed because of this," he said.
In an almost cruel sense of timing Thursday, Habcic showed Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, and two Mahoning County Sheriff Department officers garbage dumped in a nearby creek. The garbage played a significant role in the flooding problem along with a steady rainfall Thursday and Friday, Habcic said.
"We saw refrigerators, tires, you name it dumped there," Rimedio-Righetti said. "It's unbelievable. It's causing flooding and we've got to do something to take care of this. That is a main road in the city."
City waste department employees were at the flooded area Friday to see what could be done. The water rose as high as 4 feet in spots.
Though the flooding scared away numerous drivers, neighborhood kids rode their bicycles and walked through the brown, smelly water.
"It's awesome," said Chris Ferguson, 14, who lives two blocks from the flooded area.
skolnick@vindy.com