DEVON LASH, Staff Writer
Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

STAMFORD - A Stamford public safety dispatcher has died after a one-car accident in Stratford Friday.

Randy Samaha, 39, a volunteer firefighter in Glenbrook for 10 years and a dispatcher at the Emergency Communications Center for nearly 15 years, will be remembered for his humor, his service to others and his loyal friendship, his friends said.

Samaha's Chrysler mini van crashed into a tree on a traffic island on Barnum Avenue Cutoff near the Interstate 95 overpass at about 5 p.m., the Connecticut Post reported. Samaha, a Stamford native who lived in Stratford, died on arrival at Bridgeport Hospital, according to the Post.

Firefighters had to extricate Samaha from the mini van. He was the only one inside, they reported. It was raining when the accident occurred. Stratford police are investigating the cause.

There was no additional information available Sunday.

Samaha was born and raised in Stamford. He had lifelong friends in the self-proclaimed Newfield Crew, a group that hung out in the Grade A parking lot on Newfield Avenue when they were boys.

"We had all kinds of plans -- on growing old together, sitting outside and drinking a couple beers," said Mike Lockwood, a childhood friend and fellow dispatcher. "We would do anything for each other."

Lockwood said Samaha would help anyone -- not just friends and family members but co-workers and the residents of Stamford.

Samaha was one of the better dispatchers, Sgt. Robert Littlejohn said.

"You know the dispatcher's voice and he was very professional, very thorough," Littlejohn said.

Lockwood said whenever the police pursued a suspect, Samaha would be on the radio every step of the way.

"When the perp was caught, he'd stand up and give a high five," Lockwood said. "It made his night and he would talk about it for days."

Besides his professionalism, Samaha brought a sense humor to the office every day, co-workers said.

"Witty one-liners, practical jokes -- he could make you laugh from the time you walked in the room until the time he left," fellow dispatcher Tim Croke said.

A fervent Pittsburgh Steelers fan, Samaha painted the team logo in the bay window of his Stratford home, Croke said. Months after the Super Bowl victory, the paint remains, Croke said.

Glenbrook Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Frank Passaro said Samaha joined the Glenbrook fire department when he was a teenager, and continued to stay involved. He became an associate member when he moved to Stratford.

"He was a fun-loving guy, very quiet and easygoing. Nothing seemed to really upset him," Passaro said. "He was a good firefighter and he always liked to help people."

Samaha is survived by his wife, Melissa Perry Samaha; son, Jake, 5; and daughter, Amanda, 2.

A wake is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lacerenza Funeral Home, 8 Schuyler Ave. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas More Church on Middlesex Road in Darien.

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June 7, 2009