Dina Agelopoulos was 85 years old, a familiar face around Canton whose life ended in a matter of seconds on a warm Friday afternoon. Friends and family are now holding onto memories of a woman who spent decades as a staple of her local community. Her sudden passing has left a heavy silence among those who knew her best.
The fatal crash happened right around 1:07 p.m. on August 14. Agelopoulos was behind the wheel of her 2007 Toyota Camry, heading westbound along 35th Street NW. As she approached the intersection at Cleveland Avenue NW, her car failed to come to a stop at the posted sign.
At that exact moment, a SARTA city bus was traveling northbound in the right lane of Cleveland Avenue. The Camry rolled directly into the path of the bus, slamming right into its passenger side. The sudden force of the impact rattled the neighborhood and brought traffic along the busy corridor to an immediate halt.
First responders rushed to the scene within minutes to pull Agelopoulos from her damaged sedan. Paramedics loaded her into an ambulance and transported her to a nearby hospital for emergency medical care. Doctors worked to stabilize her, but her injuries proved too severe, and she passed away a short time later.
Inside the transit bus, the driver managed to avoid serious injury during the crash. However, several passengers on board suffered minor injuries from the sudden jolt of the collision. Emergency crews evaluated those riders at the scene before transporting them to local medical centers for routine checks.
Canton Police Chief John Gabbard confirmed that investigators do not suspect drugs or alcohol played any role in the wreck. The Canton Metro Crash Team quickly closed off the area to measure skid marks, reconstruct the vehicle paths, and determine why the sedan did not stop.
For the family and friends Agelopoulos leaves behind, the technical details of the police report offer little comfort. They are focusing instead on remembering her long life, supporting one another through the grief, and processing a tragic loss that happened on an ordinary Friday afternoon in Canton.
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