95-year-old veteran on his way to visit friends, killed in accident with fire department pickup truck

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF/Gray News) – The family of a 95-year-old veteran is remembering his life and honoring his legacy after he was killed in a car crash involving a South Carolina fire department vehicle.

The family of 95-year-old Peter Pulkkinen expressed shock days after his death in an accident involving a Myrtle Beach Fire Department pickup truck. They remember the retired Air Force veteran as a cautious man, WMBF reports.

Scott Pulkkinen and his wife Avis are the nephew and niece of Peter Pulkkinen.

“He was an excellent driver and we had driven with him. When we visited him, he insisted on driving himself,” said Avis Pulkkinen. “He was always so careful, so cautious, looking both ways.”

The South Carolina Highway Patrol reports that the fire department pickup truck was traveling north on Highway 17 with its lights and sirens flashing around 6 a.m. Saturday when it collided with a Ford sedan driven by Peter Pulkkinen. Troopers say the 95-year-old was attempting to turn onto the highway.

Peter Pulkkinen regularly met his friends, with whom he had been together for over ten years, for a cup of coffee and a chat at a nearby McDonald's restaurant. Avis Pulkkinen says he was on his way to meet these friends when the accident happened.

“We got the call from this friend who said, 'We think we saw Peter's car.' Of course, that made us panic and we tried to get more information. But it was so early in the morning that the police station was closed, so we couldn't get any results there,” said Avis Pulkkinen.

The fire department said in a statement to WMBF that the pickup was responding to a building fire when the accident occurred. Two employees were inside the truck and were not injured.

“Our deepest sympathy goes out to everyone involved,” the fire department said in a statement.

Peter Pulkkinen served in the Air Force for 20 years. He was one of 13 siblings, all of whom died before him. He was married to his wife Margaret for 53 years before she passed away in 2016. The couple had no children.

Neighbors said Tuesday that the 95-year-old was a man who preferred to keep to himself but was there when needed. They also said he was someone who had a routine that he followed to the second.

“He was quiet and predictable. You knew it was Monday when he mowed the front lawn. You knew it was Tuesday when he mowed the back lawn,” Catherine Burchette said.

Ellen Arnold said she will miss seeing him running around the neighborhood doing physical activities. She will also miss seeing him in the garden.

“Years ago, his wife was always in the yard picking grass, and I think at some point he put her in a nursing home and then she died,” Arnold said.

Scott Pulkkinen said he will always remember the time he spent with his uncle; just a few months ago, on June 14, Peter Pulkkinen turned 95.

“We saw him for almost two months this summer and got to know him much better,” said Scott Pulkkinen. “Just a kind, compassionate person.”

There will be no funeral service as his final wish was for his remains to be reunited with those of his late wife in Maine.

The family requests donations to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation and the Paralyzed Veterans of America in his memory.

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