By Mark Wozniak
West Seneca, NY – A head-on collision along Route 5 in the Chautauqua County town of Portland Sunday claimed the life of a respected West Seneca fire chief.
Daniel Shanahan, 43, the chief of the Seneca Hose Number One Volunteer Fire Department, was on his way to his job at the Lakeview Shock Facility in Brocton when the accident occurred.
The other driver was identified as John Mackowiak, 55, who is also a corrections officer. He was on his way home to Dunkirk from his job at the Chautauqua County jail. Mackowiak is in serious condition in an Erie Pennsylvania hospital.
Seneca Hose Assistant Chief Craig Gangloff says Shanahan's colleagues are stunned.
"We will get through this," Gangloff said. "That's what Dan would have wanted us all to do."
Shanahan is survived by his wife and two children. 0604-CG-1 :06 "all of us to do"