Ft. Wright attorney Summe dies in car wreck

FORT WRIGHT â€" The city of Fort Wright is mourning the loss of Pete Summe after Fort Wright’s long-time city attorney died Tuesday night in a one-car accident.

Summe, a California, Ky. resident, was 60.

Fort Wright Mayor Joe Nienaber Jr. canceled Wednesday night’s regularly scheduled Fort Wright City Council meeting after learning of Summe’s death. That meeting has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 11.

“We can meet without a city attorney, but we’re not going to go on without a friend,” Nienaber said of the canceled meeting.

In 1971, Summe, at age 21, was the youngest person elected to Fort Wright City Council. The former council member took over as Fort Wright’s city attorney after his sister, Patricia Summe, was elected Kenton Circuit Court judge in 1994. His five siblings also include Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe.

At Wednesday’s Kenton Fiscal Court meeting, county officials said that Pete Summe had an apparent heart attack before he lost control of his car on eastbound Interstate 275 at 8:42 p.m. Tuesday. No one else was injured in the crash.

“Pete was a nice guy who was well known in city government circles,” Kenton Judge-executive Steve Arlinghaus said of the Northern Kentucky native who also was a former Ludlow city attorney and a current deputy master commissioner. “It’s just a real tragedy and a heck of a loss to the community.”

Family members told police that Summe had taken a yoga class Tuesday night and was driving home when the accident occurred.

“Right now, the preliminary investigation points to a medical condition behind the wheel,” said Sgt. Chris Haddle, who’s coordinator of the Kenton County Police Department’s STAR (Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction) unit. “The evidence indicates that Mr. Summe was not in control of his vehicle at the time of the crash. There was no evasive action taken by Mr. Summe to avoid the collision.”

Haddle said Summe was the only person in his Audi A6 when it crashed on eastbound I-275 between Turkeyfoot Road and Ky. 17. He said the cable barriers kept Summe’s vehicle from crossing I-275’s median into the westbound lane.

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“His vehicle came to rest across the left hand emergency lane and the left hand travel lane," Haddle said. He added Summe, who was the only person in his car, was wearing his seat belt.

Attorney Garry Edmondson, a Fort Wright resident who was succeeded as Fort Wright city attorney by Patricia Summe, said that he’s known Pete most of his life. He described Pete, who inherited his father’s law practice when he died, as “a wonderful person who was always a gentleman.”

For Fort Wright’s mayor, the loss also was a personal one. Nienaber said that he and Pete “grew up around the Fort Wright city building,” as both of their fathers were involved in city government. Pete’s late father, Joseph, was a former Fort Wright city attorney.

“I like to think of Fort Wright as a bunch of friends that grew into a city,” Nienaber said. “You know pretty much anyone who’s ever been a part of the community. Pete was just a great guy who had a passion for Fort Wright.”

Nienaber said his business phone and the phones at the city building began ringing nonstop Wednesday morning, as word spread of the tragedy.

“I think that’s a testament to how much Pete is missed,” the mayor said.

Fort Wright Police Chief Dan Kreinest grew up next door to the Summe family on Kentucky Drive in Fort Wright.

“Pete was just a real gregarious fellow of exceptional integrity,” said Kreinest, who last saw his friend at lunch Tuesday. “He was a great guy, very unassuming. He would do anything in the world for you.”

Arrangements are pending at Middendorf Funeral Home in Fort Wright.