GRAFTON — Hearts were heavy on Wednesday at the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, where Neil Jalowiec worked for 17 years as a corrections officer.

Jalowiec, a 65-year-old Grafton resident, was killed in a car accident on Tuesday at the intersection of state Route 57 and West River Road in Elyria. The tan Buick LeSabre he was driving was rear-ended by a red Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Emelio Hernandez Perez, 23, of Elyria.

The force of the collision pushed the two cars all the way across the intersection and pushed the back of Jalowiec’s car up to the back of the front seat.

Lorain County Coroner Dr. Paul Matus said Jalowiec died of internal chest and abdominal injuries.

Perez was transported by helicopter from EMH Regional Medical Center to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where he was treated and released. The investigation into the crash continues.

Jalowiec’s family declined comment Wednesday through a family friend. Jalowiec leaves behind a wife of 42 years, Raeme, and a daughter, Alicia.

“He was very, very respected,” LCI Warden Marc C. Houk said of Jalowiec, who was named correction officer of the year for the institution in 1994. “He was considered one of our best officers. Everyone called him ‘The Rock’ because you could always count on him.

“He had a very good rapport with both staff and inmates,” he said. “Whenever a new officer would start, he’d inevitably spend a day with Neil during training because of how solid he was, and what sort of leadership and guidance he could give.”

Jalowiec was the second employee in less than a week to die in a car accident. Edward Drake, a 33-year-old maintenance repair worker from Ashland, was killed Sunday in a one-car accident in Jackson Township. Drake, who started in food service in 2000 before transferring to maintenance in 2003, was described by Houk as a “very dependable, hard-working, dedicated professional” whose love of sports led him to be a lead volunteer in maintaining the facility’s softball fields and playing on the institution’s softball team.

Houk said the state’s Critical Incidents Stress Team was on hand at the facility to help employees deal with the losses.

Jalowiec was a Vietnam veteran, serving in the Marines as a sergeant for two years and eight months, with his tour of duty in Vietnam spanning 1966 and 1967. He was a lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars post 3341 in Grafton.

Helen Hahn of Grafton, a fellow VFW member, said Jalowiec stopped by the VFW hall almost every day, rarely staying long, other than to say hello and have a quick chat.

Hahn said that Jalowiec had recently been doing the paperwork to get on Medicare, and often would ask her questions about the process. She added that he hadn’t told her when he would retire, but that he wanted everything in order.

Jalowiec was getting ready to start a new chapter, she said. “And it’s so sad that he won’t be able to enjoy it. I’m just crushed.”

Donna Hagdis of Wellington was driving in the left lane southbound on state Route 57 Tuesday afternoon, heading to St. Jude school to pick up her children, when she said Perez passed her on the left by going into the median.

“He came up on me so fast, I never even saw him until he was passing me,” she said. “It was scary. I’m just glad my kids weren’t in the car.”

Hernandez missed her car by inches as he passed, Hagdis said, and only by her hitting the brakes was he able to get back into the left lane to avoid being hit by a semi truck approaching in the opposite direction.

Hagdis estimates she was about 100 yards behind Perez when he struck Jalowiec, who she says was stopped at the intersection of 57 and West River Road. She said she never saw Perez’s brake lights go on.

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

Photos by Chronicle Photo Chief Bruce Bishop.

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