Article published November 9, 2000
Paramedic hit, killed while trying to help elderly pedestrian

Jennifer LaFene worked for North Central EMS for eight years and was called ‘a very valued employee’ by its executive director.

BY DEE DRUMMOND
BLADE STAFF WRITER

TIFFIN - Jennifer LaFene was a Good Samaritan, but her latest act of kindness cost the 30-year-old paramedic her life.

Mrs. LaFene was killed when a minivan hit her as she was trying to help an elderly man walking along a busy highway near this Seneca County city. At the time, the man was headed to a local polling place to vote.

"I used to call her my angel because she was," said Mrs. LaFene’s husband, William, a Perkins Township paramedic and firefighter. "She always told me I needed to be careful at work and not be a hotshot and get myself killed because I had to come home."

Mrs. LaFene and her partner, Kathleen Anderson, were westbound in their ambulance on State Rt. 101 just after 6 p.m. Tuesday when they swerved to avoid hitting John Wood, 82, of Tiffin.

Worried about Mr. Wood’s safety, the women made a U-turn and pulled over on the side of the dark road to help. Dressed in a dark blue uniform, Mrs. LaFene walked across the highway to offer Mr. Wood a ride.

As Ms. Anderson was getting out of the ambulance, she watched in horror as Mrs. LaFene and Mr. Wood were struck by a minivan. Ms. Anderson radioed for help but her partner was already dead, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

Ms. Anderson could not be reached for comment yesterday.

"Mrs. LaFene was more towards the traffic," Trooper Scott Wyckhouse said. "She was trying to help the man get off the road. He was barely clipped."

Mr. Wood was walking to vote at the Clinton Township fire hall, about one mile from his home at ‘‘Our Place, an independent living facility for senior citizens. He was treated at Mercy Hospital in Tiffin.

The driver of the minivan, Richard Kinstler, 56, of Tiffin, was not injured. He did not return telephone calls yesterday.

No charges have been filed against Mr. Kinstler, Trooper Scott Wyckhouse said. The case will be turned over to the county prosecutor for review.

Meanwhile, the accident continues to haunt Mr. Wood.

He said he was tired when the women stopped to offer a ride.

"What concerns me is if she hadn’t been trying to help me, it wouldn’t have happened to her," Mr. Wood said yesterday. "It was just one of those things that was set up wrong. It was an accident waiting to happen."

Mr. Wood worries that Mrs. LaFene’s family might blame him.

"I can understand if they would take anything wrong that I said because they suffered the loss of, I don’t know, a daughter, a wife,’’ he said softly.

Mrs. LaFene and her husband were married for four years and have two young children. The couple, who live in Sandusky, met while training as paramedics.

Through tears, Mr. LaFene remembered other times his wife extended a helping hand.

"She used to get in trouble when she was a nurse’s aide for giving one of the old guys cookies," he said "She wasn’t supposed to give him cookies, but Jenny gave them to him and did everything else she could to help him.

"It’s just kind of ironic that she stopped to help somebody because she was afraid he would get hit. That’s why they turned around. They could have kept on going."

Mrs. LaFene worked as a paramedic at North Central EMS in Milan, O., for eight years and was "a very valued employee," said Executive Director Don Ballah.

She taught sixth grade at Immaculate Conception School in Bellevue, O., from 1998 to 2000. But missing the action, she left in July to resume full-time paramedic work, occasionally returning as a substitute teacher.

Mrs. LaFene’s friends were not surprised that she tried to help a stranger.

"It was very typical of her," said Cynthia Geiger, North Central’s community relations director. "That was her nature, to help people."

"She was a teacher you would enjoy," said Sister Bernarda Breidenbach, who knew Mrs. LaFene through her teaching at Immaculate Conception. "She loved children, life and had a great rapport with everyone.

After a group prayer yesterday morning, teachers told students of the loss. The pupils plan to compile a memory box for Mrs. LaFene’s children, creating letters and cards to share their memories of their former teacher.

"Sometimes no one can understand really why things happen as they do but they’re reasons that we never know," Sister Bernarda said, choking back tears. "We have our support from family and friends and that sometimes makes our faith even stronger."