Air Force veteran dies in tragic car accident on way to visit friends

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A 95-year-old veteran was recently killed in a car accident while on his way to a morning meeting with his friends.

South Carolina resident Peter Pulkkinen died Saturday when his car collided with a Myrtle Beach Fire Department (MBFD) vehicle. The Horry County Coroner's Office confirmed his death in an email to Fox News Digital.

The incident occurred at approximately 5:46 a.m. In a statement posted on Facebook, fire officials said they responded to a building fire alarm before the accident occurred.

MBFD personnel rendered aid to Pulkkinen, but the 90-year-old died after being taken to a local hospital.

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Peter Pulkkinen died in a Myrtle Beach Fire Department accident. (Legacy.com / Myrtle Beach Fire Department via Facebook)

“The two Myrtle Beach Fire Department employees involved in the accident are physically uninjured,” the Myrtle Beach Fire Department said in a statement. “The South Carolina Highway Patrol is leading the investigation.”

“Our condolences go out to everyone involved.”

Pulkkinen's niece Avis told WMBF that the veteran was on his way to McDonald's to meet his friends for a cup of coffee, one of his regular routines.

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

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95-year-old Peter Pulkkinen joined the U.S. Air Force in 1948 and served for 20 years. (Legacy.com)

Pulkkinen's obituary, published on Legacy.com, remembered him as a “quiet man of integrity.” Born in 1929, he grew up on a farm in Maine before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1948.

Pulkkinen, who met his wife in England and brought her to the United States, served in the military for two decades before moving into the private sector.

“He loved walking, reading biographies and history books, taking trips to visit friends in Florida and driving through the Kentucky countryside,” the obituary said. “His favorite weekly outing was a meal at the Golden Corral.”