Off-duty Amherst firefighter rescues pair and their dogs from turnpike wreck

Elyria firefighters credited an off-duty Amherst firefighter with rescuing two passengers from a crashed car on the Ohio Turnpike moments before it was struck by a tractor-trailer. Pete Stamatis was driving to Parma for an overtime shift at General Motors early Wednesday morning when a car in front of him fishtailed and slammed into the turnpike median wall in Elyria. The vehicle spun and came to rest in the middle lane of traffic and Stamatis, an Amherst firefighter, pulled over and rushed to help. "Their doors were undamaged, which probably saved their life," Stamatis said. Stamatis ran to the truck and helped the driver out and into his own car before running back to help the passenger, who had an injured ankle and was holding a dog. "I kinda help him get to the car too, get him inside and then the girl told me they had a second dog in the back seat," Stamatis said. "So I went back out and went through the driver's door. Thankfully it was a little dog and not a mean dog, so I grabbed that dog, he was pretty agreeable, took him back to my car and threw him in there." Stamatis called 911 to report the crash, but moments later a semi slammed into the crashed car. He said that the car had lost all power in the initial crash, so it would have been "nearly invisible" to the truck driver who was coming around a curve in the road. Elyria Engine Company 3 and acting Lt. Ryan Lakatos were dispatched at 2:30 a.m. to respond to the crash. Lakatos recounted the scene in a report sent to Fire Chief Joe Pronesti, which was shared with The Chronicle. "In the moments following, a semi traveling at highway speeds struck the disabled vehicle with incredible force," Lakatos said in his report. "The impact was so severe that the median was heavily damaged, the passenger vehicle was nearly unrecognizable and the front suspension of the semi was ripped off." Remarkably, the truck driver was also not seriously injured, sustaining just a few cuts, Stamatis said. Stamatis said he had only even been at the spot in the turnpike where the crash occurred because he was running late that morning. "I'm a religious person," he said. "I think everything happens for a reason. There was a reason God wanted me right there this morning. I'm glad I was able to help out." Amherst Fire Chief Brandon Dimacchia said that when he read the Elyria fire report on Stamatis' actions, he got goosebumps. "Pete is a kind guy with a big heart who had the guts today to make a huge impact on a terrifying situation," Dimacchia said. "I am so proud of him for risking his life to save the lives of the other family and we're so lucky to have Pete on our team. … A lot of people would've just drove right by, but he had the courage to make a difference." Stamatis, who had been a firefighter for about five years and joined Amherst fire in 2024, said he was just doing what he was trained to do and what anyone would do. "I'm very grateful that I was able to do my part there," Stamatis said. "I don't think it was anything special really. It's just, I felt like that was the right thing to do there. … Like I said, I'm just grateful I was able to help out a little bit and that everyone got to go home." Stamatis remained at the scene with the occupants of the car as Elyria fire and the State Highway Patrol arrived and investigated the scene. "There is no doubt in my mind that without the actions taken by firefighter Stamatis, the outcomes of the victims would have been fatal," Lakatos said. "While (Stamatis) will claim that he was just in the right place at the right time, he went above and beyond. My entire crew at Station No. 3 shares great gratitude for the actions of this Brother in providing a positive outcome to what could have been a tragic event." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.