Former editor dies after accident
The former city editor and more recently editorial page editor of the Observer-Reporter died Monday in a Pittsburgh hospital following a vehicle accident Sunday near his North Franklin Township home.
Louis Florian, 77, of Sylvan Drive, died at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital early Monday of injuries received in the crash.
North Franklin police said his vehicle ran over a gas meter before hitting head-on into a tree about noon Sunday at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Sylvan Drive. The top of the gas meter was broken off by the impact, causing a gas leak. Columbia Gas was called.
Fire Chief Dave Bane said it appeared Florian may have suffered a medical condition prior to the crash as he drove past his home. Florian was flown to the Pittsburgh hospital from a landing zone at the township fire hall on Sylvan.
Florian was returning home after playing the organ at Masses Sunday morning at St. Hilary Catholic Church in Washington. He had been the longtime organist for the parish.