Canfield man injured in Portage County traffic accident

ROOTSTOWN — Gerald Petrock, 61, of Canfield, was in critical condition late tonight in Akron City Hospital after the car he was riding in was in an accident on Interstate 76 between state Routes 14 and 44 in Portage County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Ravenna Post said Petrock was a passenger in a 2002 Saturn LW2 station wagon driven by Eva M. Heckert of Ravenna, 24, that traveled off the right side of the road and struck a guard rail, then came back across the center lanes, striking a concrete barrier.

The vehicle was eastbound at the time of the 5:25 p.m. accident.

Heckert was transported to Robinson Memorial Hospital. Petrock was freed from the wreckage by mechanical means. The crash is under investigation.