Investigators probe crash that killed advocate

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — A two-car crash on South Meridian Road killed Kim Sullivan, a well-liked judicial advocate for Sojourner House, a domestic violence program.

Sullivan, 42, of Austintown, died Sunday morning. The crash happened around 7 a.m. in the 100 block of South Meridian Road, said Detective Sgt. Patricia Garcar, an accident investigator.

Garcar said the other driver was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center. She said Tuesday that investigators were just beginning to piece together what happened.

“She was with the agency 15 years in a variety of capacities, the last four years as judicial advocate for victims of domestic violence,” said Joe Caruso, executive director of the Burdman Group. “She will be sorely missed. She was a dynamo, had a passion for the job.”

Caruso said Sullivan was well-known by law enforcement and the courts and did a lot of public speaking. He said she was not judgmental but gave people options, then supported them.

Caruso said he believes Sullivan was on her way to another job she had working with adolescents Sunday morning. Preliminary information indicates the other driver went left of center and hit her driver’s side, he said.