Prominent doctor dies in accident | News, Sports, Jobs

Dr. Richard Milazzo Jr.

A doctor who was a fixture in the Dunkirk-Fredonia community for decades has died. Dr. Richard Milazzo Jr. died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon after his car was struck by a tow truck in Wethersfield, Wyoming County.

The Batavia Daily News reported that Milazzo, 80, of Silver Creek, was traveling westbound on Wethersfield Road at 2:26 p.m. He stopped at the Hermitage Road intersection and began crossing the highway. Milazzo veered into the path of a 2022 Ram tow truck traveling southbound on Hermitage Road, Wyoming County sheriff's officials said. The tow truck struck his Subaru in the driver's door and both vehicles went off the road.

The county coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Representatives of Brooks-TLC commented “sad” to hear the news. “If there was ever a doctor who exemplified ‘commitment to the community,’ it was Dr. Richard Milazzo,” said Ken Morris, President and CEO. “Dr. Milazzo was a highly respected physician in the Dunkirk-Fredonia community, treating patients for over 50 years. He had a great tenure at Brooks Hospital as a colleague and friend. We are deeply saddened by Dr. Milazzo's passing and will miss him more than words can express.”

Dr. Marlene Hassenfratz, chief medical officer of the Brooks-TLC Hospital System, described Milazzo as “Truly great doctor and a very kind person. He made such a difference in the lives of many people he touched. He will be truly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

A 2020 OBSERVER article said the family physician treated patients in Dunkirk and Fredonia for 54 years. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and was affiliated with the Brooks-TLC Hospital System.

When asked what drew him to medicine, Dr. Milazzo said his interest stemmed from his father, a urologist, but he says it went deeper than that when he had to choose a branch of medicine. “I like the intellectual challenges of internal medicine, where you basically cover all the different disciplines,” he said. To this end, Dr. Milazzo still studies and researches medical journals, “almost every night” to ensure that he always provides the best care to his patients.

“I have been caring for patients for over 40 years,” he says. “I did this because I wanted to help people, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. So when I go to a visit and feel like I haven't helped the person, I feel bad – that's a wasted visit for me.”

The 2020 article noted that Dr. Milazzo was not ready to retire and was motivated to continue learning and caring for his patients. “I have built close relationships with many of my patients,” he said, laughing. “At least once a week a patient says to me, 'Don't retire until I die.' And I don't know how to understand that.”

Services have yet to be announced.