Family of jogger killed in Fowler asks for privacy, thank community

Staff report

CORTLAND

Attorneys for the family of Brittany Szwedko, 27, the woman who died Tuesday in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital after being hit by a car on Ridge Road in Fowler Township while jogging Saturday, is asking for privacy.

“The family members of Brittany Szwedko wish to express their sincerest gratitude to the community for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers,” a statement from the family says.

“Although there will come time to address the troublesome circumstances surrounding this incident, during this tremendously difficult time, the family respectfully requests privacy as they mourn the tragic loss of their loved one.”

The family is represented by the law firm of Amendolara & Rafidi of Canfield, which issued the news release.

Szwedko’s obituary, in Thursday’s Vindicator, said she was a 2006 graduate of Lakeview High School in Cortland and 2009 alumna of Youngstown State University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

She enjoyed distance running and had competed in the Pittsburgh Marathon, it said. For the past nine years, she worked for the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library and was most recently in the public relations department.

She was a member of the St. Robert Catholic Church in Cortland and especially loved walking her dogs, Ted and Penny, it said.

Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m., Friday at the Peter Rossi & Son Memorial Chapel in Warren. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the St. Robert Church in Cortland.