LAKELAND, Fla. -- Dick Stello, a National League umpire for 19 years, was killed Wednesday when he was pinned between two parked cars in a freak accident. He was 53.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Stello and another man were standing between cars on State Road 33, just north of Interstate 4, when another vehicle struck one of the parked cars, sending it crashing into the other.
Stello of Pinellas Park died a short time later at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Frank Suddarth, 48, St. Petersburg, was hospitalized with a mild concussion and injured hip. Also hospitalized in stable condition Thursday was Lucille Guynn, 20, of Polk City, a passenger in the third vehicle.
Troopers said the accident occurred when a car driven by James Guynn, 69, of Polk City, swerved to avoid another vehicle and slid into the rear of the parked car.
'It was just one of those freak deals,' said Bill Suddarth, brother of the injured man and a longtime friend of Stello.
Suddarth said his brother, who owns a used-car lot in St. Petersburg, and Stello had been at the Lakeland Auto Auction and left in two cars. He said they stopped so his brother could put a dealer's tag on the car they had purchased.
A highway patrol spokesman said no charges had been filed and the accident was under investigation.
Stello umpired the 1975 and 1981 World Series, five playoffs and two All-Star Games. He worked his first NL game in 1968 and became a full-time umpire in 1969.
'Mr. Stello served the National League and baseball for 19 years with high professionalism and devotion,' Bart Giamatti, president of the NL, said in a statement. 'His professionalism was accompanied by a caring, warm spirit and a capacity for friendship that touched all he encountered.'
Before going to the NL, Stello umpired in the Georgia-Florida League, the Texas League and the International League.
Stello is survived by his daughter, Lila, and sister, Celina Holm.
Services were scheduled for Monday at the Reese Funeral Home in Seminole.
