The city of Cape Coral registered its eighth traffic fatality Saturday morning when the driver of a 2005 Buick LeSabre suffered a heart attack, lost control of his vehicle and struck a utility pole, stop sign and finally a tree in a median. Cape resident Regis A. Dolinak, 74, died at Lee Memorial Hospital.
At 11:07 a.m. Saturday, Cape police and fire units responded to a traffic accident involving a single vehicle with one occupant in the 2100 block of Academy Boulevard.
According to witnesses, Dolinak was traveling south on Academy Boulevard when his gold Buick drifted to the right and exited the roadway. The car struck a wooden utility pole, knocking the pole down, and then continued south across SE 21st Street and struck a stop sign. The Buick drifted back to the left, across the southbound lanes of Academy Blvd. and entered the median where it struck a tree and came to its final rest.
Witnesses reportedly rushed to the vehicle and observed the male driver unresponsive. Dolinak was transported by ambulance to the Lee Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:54 a.m.
Emergency staff indicated that Dolinak suffered a heart attack prior to the crash, which caused his death. An autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause of death.
There are no signs of impairment relating to this traffic crash at this time.