Driver dies after head-on crash on Route 31 near Radisson

Fatal crash

The driver of a silver Toyota Solara died Monday evening after a head-on crash with a black Kia Telluride on Route 31 near Radisson. Belgium Cold Springs volunteer firefighters extricated a man and woman from the black SUV; state police, GBAC and BCSFD assisted with CPR on an unconscious man who was pulled from the silver car he had been driving, officials said.Catie O'Toole | cotoole@syracuse.com

Update: Illinois man identified as driver in fatal head-on crash on Route 31 near Radisson

Lysander, N.Y. — The driver of a car involved in a head-on crash Monday evening on Route 31 near Radisson has died, state police said.

State police say the 66-year-old man was driving a 2005 silver Toyota Solara west on Route 31 at 5:09 p.m. when he veered into the eastbound lanes and struck a 2020 black Kia Telluride sport utility vehicle head-on.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, was unconscious and pulled from the Toyota Solara after the crash. First responders performed CPR at the scene and on the way to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, but the man did not survive, said Trooper Jack Keller, a State Police spokesman.

Belgium Cold Springs volunteer firefighters spent about 10 minutes extricating the driver and passenger from the Kia after the crash, Fire Chief Matt Speach said.

After firefighters helped get the driver of the Kia, Paul T. Kuropatwinski, 44, of Baldwinsville, and his passenger, a 35-year-old woman, out of the SUV, they were taken by ambulance to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, Keller said. Their injuries were not life threatening, he said.

Greater Baldwinsville Ambulance Corps (GBAC) also transported the man pulled from the Toyota to Upstate University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, state police said.

A German shepherd was found dead in the backseat of the man’s car, troopers said. CNY SPCA helped remove the dog, Keller said.

State police, Onondaga County sheriff’s deputies, Belgium Cold Springs volunteer firefighters and EMTs, GBAC and North Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NAVAC) also responded to the scene. The crash was on Route 31 just east of Speach Drive in the town of Lysander.

Part of Route 31, from Drakes Landing to Willett Parkway, was closed for about four hours after the crash while the state police Collision Reconstruction Unit took photographs and measurements of the scene.

State police say they are still trying to notify the family of the man who died.

Check Syracuse.com for updates.

Route 31 crash

Belgium Cold Springs Fire Chief Matt Speach stands in front a two-vehicle crash Monday evening on Route 31 near Radisson.Catie O'Toole | cotoole@syracuse.com

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