Martin, 77, a former radio station owner, on-air personality and sports broadcaster, died at St. Mary's Hospital following the collision, which occurred about 3:45 p.m.

Martin apparently pulled his Ford Windstar minivan from Boy Scout Road into the path of a sport-utility vehicle driven by Harriet Scott, 63, wife of Boyd County Judge-Executive Bill Scott, Ashland Police Sgt. Todd Kelley said.

Scott was eastbound on 13th Street.

Martin, who suffered chest trauma in the collision, was transported by ambulance to St. Mary's Hospital in Huntington.

Shortly after arriving at St. Mary's, Martin went into cardiac arrest and died, said Marty Johnson, spokesman for Boyd County Emergency Medical Services.

Emergency workers had called HealthNet Aeromedical Services to fly Martin to St. Mary's and started setting up a landing zone for a helicopter.

But no HealthNet flights could be made due to weather conditions, Johnson said.

Scott complained of chest pain and was taken to King's Daughters Medical Center for observation, Johnson said. She was later released, a hospital spokesman said.

Martin's granddaughter, Hannah Martin, 6, was a passenger in his van. She was not injured, Kelley said.

Kelley said the intersection where Martin was killed is an area of concern for the police department. He said there had been several fatalities there in the past, although he did not have figures on how many.

There is no traffic signal at the intersection, but Kelley said he didn't believe that was the major problem there.

He said motorists coming off Boy Scout Road and misjudging the speed of traffic on 13th Street seemed to be the predominant cause of accidents at the intersection.

Police don't know if that was the cause of Martin's accident, which remains under investigation, Kelley said.

Martin served as mayor of Ashland from 1988 to 1991. During his tenure, Ashland achieved the designation of ``All-Kentucky City."

It was Martin's leadership that paved the way for the development of Ashland Town Center, said City Manager William H. Fisher Jr.

``He was the guy who seized on that and made it happen," he said. ``There were a lot of bumps in that road."

Fisher said Town Center, which opened in 1989, and the businesses that were later developed in the area across from the mall were probably the city's most visible memorials to Martin.

But above all, ``Dick Martin was a good man," Fisher said.

``Those of us who worked with him knew the most important things in his life were his family, his church and his city," he said.

A city commission work session scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today was canceled out of respect for Martin, Fisher said.

Martin was ``a good citizen and a good patriot," said William A. Mordica Jr., a former city commissioner who ran against Martin for mayor in 1988.

``I think the city as a whole will grieve, and we'll miss Dick," he said.

Mordica said he and Martin became friends during Martin's early days as the voice of Ashland Tomcat sports — a role he occupied for nearly 30 years.

Mordica, a former football official, said he was on the field for many of the games Martin called on the radio.

Martin was ``a great mayor as far as I'm concerned," said Norman ``Dutch" Berry, a former city commissioner who served during Martin's administration. ``He stayed in Frankfort about half the time getting things done for the city."

Martin was also a member of the Northeast Kentucky Regional Industrial Park Authority board of directors, which governs EastPark, and was instrumental in the formation of the Eastern Kentucky Economic Development Corp.

``He loved this community, and he will be missed," said Ashland Alliance President Jim Purgerson, who worked with Martin on the industrial park board.

Martin was secretary of the EastPark board. He was also a member of the Boyd County EMS Tax Board for 25 years.

Last year, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a resolution to name the bridge on Ky. 168 over the Little Hoods Creek in honor of Martin.

Martin was  member of Calvary Episcopal Church and headed numerous groups there, said Mary Stoess, the church's secretary.

Martin's passing leaves a tremendous void in the church, Stoess said.

``I don't know how to express it," she said. ``He was so much a part of this church. He used to joke around with me all the time and I'll really miss that."

Martin was born June 5, 1924, in Huntington. He  worked at radio station WSAZ while attending East High School, at Marshall College. 

He served in England 2½ years with the Army's 8th Air Corps and 2nd Air Division during World War II. 

After the war, he accepted a job with WCMI, the first AM radio station to serve Ashland and other communities in Northeastern Kentucky.

He was the voice of the Ashland Tomcats from 1947 until 1975, when he turned those duties over to his son, W. Richard Martin Jr.

Martin's other son, Scott, is also a well-known radio personality.

In 1970, WCMI-FM was spun off and purchased by a new corporation headed by Martin, and its call letters were changed to WAMX-FM. The station was a popular outlet for contemporary and ``Top 40" music during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Martin sold WAMX to Stoner Broadcasting Systems Inc. for $1.75 million in 1983. Today, the station is owned by Kindred Communications and operates under the call letters WDGG.