Police ID crash victim as radio station GM

Employees at the Newarkbased WNKO/WHTH radio station were in shock Wednesday morning, after learning that General Manager John Thomas Swank, who went by Tom, died in a car crash Tuesday afternoon in Heath.

They struggled through tears to describe him as a kind and generous man who cared deeply about the community he lived in.

Swank, 73, was pronounced dead at the scene after his car flipped over into a ditch around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday near the Park Lanes Bowling Alley entrance on Hopewell Drive, Heath police said.

Swank had graduated from Newark Catholic High School and lived in Licking County his entire life.

He joined WNKO/WHTH in 1970 as a salesman after working for the Newark Advocate newspaper, and was promoted to general manager in 1988. He remained in that position until his death.

Swank spent much of his tenure fighting to keep the station under local ownership, even as companies such as Clear Channel bought more and more properties across the country, station owner John Franks said.

The general manager believed a radio station could be a good servant to the community, he said.

“He stood behind those beliefs,” Franks said.

Under Swank’s guidance, the station worked with groups such as the United Way and Salvation Army to collect donations for the less fortunate, Franks said.

“He was involved with a lot of local groups over the years,” Franks said. His positions included past president of the Newark Rotary Club and member of the Hopewell Federal Credit Union board.

Franks said he couldn’t believe it when he received a phone call from Swank’s housekeeper, who told him the general manager had died. Swank was scheduled to have surgery Wednesday morning, but never made it home from work the night before.

Police said the cause of the Tuesday afternoon crash remains under investigation. Any witnesses are asked to call Heath police at 740-522-2141.