95-Year-Old Veteran Dies in Crash with Fire Truck: ‘He Was Always So Cautious’
On Saturday, Sept. 14, Robert Pulkkinen died when his vehicle collided with a truck from the Myrtle Beach Fire Department
The loved ones of a 95-year-old Air Force veteran are mourning his death after he was tragically killed in a car crash in South Carolina.
On Saturday, Sept. 14, at 5:40 a.m. local time, Robert Pulkkinen died when his vehicle collided with a truck from the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said, per WMBF News.
Highway patrol officials noted, per WMBF News, that the fire department was responding to a fire call around 6 a.m. local time and headed north on Highway 17 – Pulkkinen was attempting to turn onto the highway when the crash occurred.
“Our hearts go out to everyone involved,” the fire department said per WISTV.
The incident is currently under investigation by South Carolina Highway Patrol, the agency noted to PEOPLE in a statement.
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In an interview with WMBF News, Pulkkinen’s niece, Avis Pulkkinen, explained the initial panic felt when she got word he could be involved in an accident.
“We got the call from that friend saying we think that we saw Peter’s car. And so of course, that put us into a panic mode and we were trying to reach out to find more information. But it was so early in the morning, the police desk was not open so we couldn’t get any results there,” she said, adding, "He was always so cautious, so careful looking both ways."
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Pulkkinen was the only fatality of the crash, as the two employees who were aboard the fire truck were not injured, WMBF News said.
Per his obituary, Pulkkinen “loved to take walks, read biographies and history books, take trips to visit friends in Florida and enjoyed driving through the Kentucky countryside.”
“A quiet man of integrity, Pete is loved by many and will be greatly missed,” the obituary further noted.
Avis also told WMBF News that Pulkkinen was on his way to attend his regular meeting with friends at a local McDonald’s for coffee before the deadly crash.
There will be no funeral service, but the family is asking for donations to be made in his memory via the Paralyzed Veterans of America or to plant a tree at the Sympathy Store.
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