Posted on 08/12/2005 9:35:32 PM PDT by South40
Hours After Visit, Crash Kills 2 Sisters; Cancer Kills 3rd
WANTAGE, N.J. -- Just hours after visiting their sister who was dying of cancer, two women were killed in a car crash. Shortly after that, the sister they had visited died from her illness.
"It's a tragedy beyond belief, three sisters in less than 12 hours," Lorraine Bierstine, an aunt of the man who was driving the sisters home, told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's newspapers.
Alexandria Labonowski, 83, and Theresa Sobiech, 72, both of Goshen, N.Y., were headed home on Route 23 at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after visiting their terminally ill sister at a hospice in Dover when an oncoming car crashed into theirs, killing both women.
The sister they had visited, Josephine Bierstine, 71, of Sussex, died several hours later. She did not know her sisters had been killed.
A passenger in the other car, Catherine Cannizzaro, 26, of Passaic, died Thursday at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Several other passengers from both vehicles are recovering from injuries.
The crash occurred when a car driven by Alesandro Coronel, 30, of Passaic, crossed into the opposite lane and hit the sisters' car head-on.
State police said an investigation into what caused the crash is not expected to be completed until Tuesday at the earliest. No charges have been filed.
The sisters' family was tightly knit, said Nicole Bierstine, granddaughter of the woman who died from cancer. Theresa and Alexandria had visited Josephine frequently since she became ill with colon cancer. Before she got sick, they played cards together and formed a pinochle club with a fourth sister.
"The sisters' family was tightly knit..."
In Kurt Vonnegut's book "Cat's Cradle" he talks about close relatives, or spouses, who are so close they die together, or very nearly together.
That doesn't do much to explain the other victims in this crash, I'm afraid.
May God rest their souls.
Illegal?
A friend of mine was killed this way. The survivor-driver who recklessly murdered him did not face charges. I hope the victims in this case are able to obtain justice.
Thursday, August 11, 2005 By JESSICA SEDA
Herald Staff Writer
WANTAGE — At least two people are dead and five others injured after a head-on collision Wednesday on Route 23.
The two-vehicle accident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. between the Dairy Queen and the Wantage Plaza. A beige Toyota Corolla traveling in the southbound lane crossed over the double-yellow lines and collided with a white Buick Century in the northbound lane.
Alexandria Labonowski, 83, and Theresa Soblech, 72, passengers in the Buick, were pronounced dead at Saint Clare's Hospital in Sussex Borough, police said. State police were not releasing the hometowns of the two victims late Wednesday. The driver of the Buick, Edward Blerstine Jr., 49, of Pine Island, N.Y., escaped with minor injuries.
All four passengers of the Toyota, including a 7-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl, were flown to Morristown Memorial Hospital, police said. Catherine Cannizzaro, 26, and the driver, Alesandro Coronel, 30, of Passaic, were listed in critical condition Wednesday night. The status of the two children was unavailable.
Glass and metal were strewn across the road Wednesday as police investigated at the scene. The Century's driver-side airbag had deployed and the windshields of both cars were cracked. Both cars' front ends were smashed in; no skid marks were apparent on the road.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, the Sussex barracks of the state police and the state police Fatal Accident Unit based in Totowa.
The state police, Sussex and Wantage fire departments, Saint Clare's Paramedics, and first aid squads from Sussex, Wantage, Hamburg and Glenwood Pochuck responded.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation helped re-route traffic after the accident. Vehicles traveling on Route 23 north were diverted to Pond School Road and those on Route 23 south were diverted to Cemetery Road and Route 565.
Wrong place wrong time. It could happen to any of us. Very sad.
I wonder how those women died since they were in a car with much more mass. Their driver in the Buick(!), who was protected by an air bag, escaped with minor injuries. I wonder how much age had to do with it and whether they were buckled in.
Yes indeed. Left behind a year old son.
My mother-in-law experienced something like this. Her sister (50-ish) died of a brain tumor. Her brother (a couple of years younger) died of a heart attack driving to the funeral. Not long after, her mother (80) died of kidney failure (or was it a broken heart?). Thus, within a short time, my mother-in-law lost practically her entire family. Ten years later, however, she's still doing well herself.
Sorry for that family's loss
But we all know it's Bush's fault.
Am I the first?
hehehe
welcome to FR
"I wonder how those women died since they were in a car with much more mass. Their driver in the Buick(!), who was protected by an air bag, escaped with minor injuries. I wonder how much age had to do with it and whether they were buckled in."
Might not have been buckled, but even if they were, elderly folks are much more likely to suffer devastating internal injuries just from the forces involved in a wreck.
Sniff sniff!
While you're stumbling around, watch your language.
missed it :(
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