Vol.FF Derek Dorozynski, 36 -- MVA on Rt.17

[Guest hoss]

Very tragic. RIP brother. Condolences to both families,my prayers are with you.

June 17, 2005

Tuxedo firefighter, another man die in head-on crash on Rte. 17

By Mike Dawson

Times Herald-Record

mdawson@th-record.com   

   

Tuxedo – A well-liked longtime Tuxedo volunteer firefighter was killed early yesterday morning along with another man in a head-on crash on a steep and winding section of Route 17.

   

Just after 2 a.m., Derek J. Dorozynski, 36, of Tuxedo, was driving his 1999 Toyota on Route 17 near Brandy Hill Road when he apparently crossed the double-yellow line and crashed into a Dunkin' Donuts delivery truck, according to Tuxedo police.

   

Dorozynski and the driver of the truck, Ripple A. Patel, 31, of New Jersey, both died in the accident, police said.

 

The accident is under investigation.

When tragedy strikes a local firefighter, the victim's unsuspecting volunteer brethren are often the first on the scene.

Such was the case yesterday morning.

Stefan Christian, captain of Tuxedo's Sterling Forest Fire Company and also a Tuxedo police officer, was the first to arrive and see Dorozynski, who had been a Sterling Forest volunteer for 18 years. Crews from Sterling Forest Company followed but after the scene was secured, they were turned away. The other two Tuxedo fire companies tended to the grim duty.

 

"It was under control, no one (from Sterling Forest Fire Company) needed to see one of their own guys," Christian said.

   

But plenty of firefighters did. In response, the company hosted a crisis intervention session last night at the Sterling Forest firehouse.

   

"What's really bothering me is that you come up and realize it's your own member," Christian said, pausing. "It hasn't hit home yet but it will."

   

Christian and others said Dorozynski, who was single, was very social and a blast to be around. They also said he was a solid firefighter.

   

Dorozynski worked for Orange County Recycling and was a ski instructor at Sterling Forest.

   

He is survived by his parents and a brother. His mother, Annette Dorozynski, was Tuxedo supervisor from 1986-92.

   

Funeral arrangements are pending.

 

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