“One of the best I’ve worked with”: Colleagues remember paramedic killed in I-70 crash
Greg Cominsky knew his late colleague Matthew Smelser since Smelser was 14. They shared a passion for emergency medicine.
鈥淗e was very work-oriented 鈥� really good with patient care,鈥� Cominsky said Sunday. 鈥淎nd let me tell you 鈥� if you were injured, that鈥檚 the face you want to see.鈥� Cominsky paused, then added: 鈥淗e was that guy.鈥�
At 5:30 a.m. that morning, Smelser was doing his job 鈥� helping someone who鈥檇 been injured in a crash on Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County 鈥� when state police said another accident killed him. Smelser, 43, was a full-time paramedic supervisor from Rostraver/West Newton Emergency Services. He lived in Charleroi.
State police officials from the Belle Vernon station said their investigation into those events is ongoing.
The loss of Smelser was devastating for the department where he鈥檇 worked since the mid-1990s, said Cominsky, a fellow supervisor.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you鈥檙e going to replace him,鈥� he said.
Tom Fronzaglio, a firefighter and former captain with the Donora Volunteer Volunteer Fire Company, agreed. He said they鈥檇 known each other for 10 or 15 years.
鈥淚鈥檝e known him outside of work as a friend, and he was a very well-respected paramedic, one of the best I鈥檝e seen in my 25 years of being a fireman,鈥� Fronzaglio said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way they can replace him.鈥�
Members of the Rostraver department had been dispatched to a wreck on the interstate before the crash that claimed Smelser鈥檚 life about a mile from the Smithton exit.
A press release from state police said the road was icy when a vehicle crashed into their ambulance, and a 鈥渃ommercial vehicle鈥� struck and killed Smelser.
Smelser also worked part time in a similar role for UPMC.
鈥淗e was very well-respected among colleagues, staff and patients alike and will be fondly remembered for his commitment to serving others,鈥� said Rick Pietzak, a spokesman for the health care system, in an email. 鈥淲e express our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues.鈥�
Cominsky said he had a Connellsville-based ambulance company at the time he met Smelser, who was involved in a program that introduced youth to that line of work through the Boy Scouts. Smelser caught whatever bug makes someone love it.
鈥淚f you were down and out, he was the face you wanted to see,鈥� Cominsky said. 鈥淗e was good at what he did.鈥�