Trumbull Commissioner Paul Heltzel injured in car crash

Trumbull Commissioner Paul Heltzel injured in car crash

LAgrange, Ind.

Paul Heltzel, Trumbull County commissioner, suffered a broken leg on Thursday when the vehicle in which he was riding was involved in a single-car crash on Interstate 80.

Heltzel, 66, of North Rhodes Avenue, Niles, was a rear-seat passenger in a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban heading eastbound that slipped off the road in the passing lane and struck a guardrail head-on.

Interviews conducted by the Indiana State police afterward indicated that the most likely reason for the crash was that the driver, Eugene F. Benyo, 66, of Fairview Road, Austintown, had fallen asleep.

The crash occurred at 6 p.m., about 30 miles west of the Ohio line near LaGrange, Indiana. All four men in the vehicle were taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., for treatment.

Heltzel and Benyo were still at the hospital on Tuesday morning. The hospital had no record or information on the two other men.

Benyo suffered severe bleeding and severe injuries to his knee and lower leg and foot.

Three of the men, including Heltzel, were wearing seat belts. None were ejected from the vehicle.

James R. Henline, 54, of a different address on Fairview Road in Austintown, suffered from severe bleeding and injuries to his elbow and lower arm.

Stanley P. Feret, 51, of Olde Charted Trail, Poland, complained of back pain. He was not wearing a seat belt.

State police said the vehicle traveled about 70 feet into the guard rail, rotated 180 degrees and came back to rest in the passing lane.

As the vehicle traveled into the guard rail, it sheered off the guard rail from its base.

Damage to the guard rail and vehicle was estimated at between $25,000 and $50,000.