Please keep this family in your thoughts

[sblme28]

On Saturday night, just before midnight, one of my brother's aquaintances was killed when hit by a SUV (the girl was only 16...the other paper...not the one quoted at the bottom...said alcohol was not a factor) walking with friends to one of their parent's cars after enjoying a nice night at a local fair.

This boy, Jason, was only 15 years old. His older brother is in the same boy scout troop as my brother. Jason would often attend boy scout trips and events and he spend alot of time with the troop (donatations in his memory are being made to the troop). His father holds a position in the troop (I forget whick one) and is a very nice man. Their whole family is very nice and I've had pleasant conversations with them the few times I saw them.

Just recently, the troop took a week long canoe trip in Maine. Jason went along. My father (who is a merit badge counciler and event assistant for the troop - he's very involved in the troop) regaled me with stories of how nice Jason. He said he seemed wise beyond his years. My dad played card games with Jason on the trip and they even traveled in the same canoe for parts of the trip. He said he was just a good kid!

I'll attach the newspaper article and the obit at the bottom of this post so you can read the story for yourself.

Just please keep Jason, his family, his friends, and the boy scout troop in your thoughts and prayers. Also, give my brother the strength to say a beautiful prayer on Thursday night at their meeting (he's in charge of prayers this month).

It's so sad to lose someone so young. Jason's family thanks your for your prayers.

-Jessica

Newspaper Article:

September 30, 2002

Meriden boy, 15, killed in Durham accident

By Jason J. Barry Record-Journal staff


September 30, 2002


A Meriden teen was killed and several others were injured when a sport utility vehicle struck the teens walking along Main Street in Durham Saturday night following the close of the town's agricultural fair.


Police said Marcy Jarzabek, 16, of Portland, was driving south on Main Street, Route 17, at about 11:30 p.m. when her Chevrolet Suburban drifted to the right and struck four people who were walking along the road near Strong Middle School, a five-minute walk from the Durham fairgrounds.


Jason Gelinas, 15, of Yale Avenue, Meriden, was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital after being flown there by Lifestar helicopter.


Three other 15-year-olds from Meriden, Lisa Shea, Ryan Terrenzi and Faith Suzio suffered relatively minor injuries. A fifth teenager escaped injury. State Police are investing the accident. No charges have yet been filed in the incident.


Gelinas was a sophomore at Maloney High School in Meriden and a member of the Outdoor Adventure Club.


Kari and John Kuehnle, of 186 Main St., which overlooks the accident scene, said they heard a scream, saw the scene from their window and went outside to help. Several teens who saw the accident stayed in the Kuehnles' living room, some until 4:30 a.m.


"It was a big Suburban thing. … I don't think the girl who hit them knew quite how bad it was," Kari Kuehnle said. "Of course, there was a million kids around. We had them in the house to calm them down. The biggest thing was trying to get them away from seeing all these bodies in the road."


Josh Frick, who had been parking cars at 191 Main St. earlier in the evening, wasn't outside at the time of the accident, but said the aftermath was troubling to see.


"You don't see something like that every day; a kid on the ground, dead. Something you don't want to see. It's just a nightmare," he said.


State Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Vance said investigators are still determining the facts of the incident and did not know if the teens were leaving the fair, which closed for the night at 11 o'cock. The busy road has inherent dangers to pedestrians, Vance said: "It is a rural road without any sidewalks," he explained. "It has its own apparent dangers."


The teens had been at the fair and were heading out to meet a carpool ride from a parent, according to Faith Suzio's father, Leonard, who is a member of the Meriden Board of Education.


"They weren't out drinking alcohol. They were just a good group of teenagers that one of their parents just dropped off and another was going to pick up," Leonard Suzio said. "No one ever thought this would happen. They were clearly off the road. They heard this loud bang, apparently it was the headlight, which struck the boy."


The Durham Fair, touted as Connecticut's largest, is in its 83rd year and draws nearly 250,000 people.


Although some residents said traffic on Main Street is always a problem, the fair adds pedestrian traffic, too. Fair officials declined comment Sunday afternoon.


Part of the east side of the road has sidewalks. But because that side gets clogged with foot traffic, fair-goers often opt to walk on the narrow shoulder across the street, residents said. That was the case on Sun-day.


A woman posted at Strong Middle School's parking lot ushered pedestrians to cross over to the side-walk: "Everybody has to cross over. Cross over. The state police want you to cross over."


But some passersby slipped by her and the trooper further down the road to unwittingly step over the markings of the fatal accident scene from hours before.


A resident of 167 Main St., across the street from the accident scene, said he was surprised more acci-dents don't happen and suggested that the fair may have outgrown the town.


"You wouldn't think such a small town would have such traffic. It's very congested here," said the man, who declined to give his name. "Now you add all this on here and you have a tremendous amount of traf-fic. When the fair lets out, this side is loaded" with pedestrians.



Obit:
September 30, 2002

Jason A. Gelinas

MERIDEN -- Jason Adam Gelinas, 15, of Yale Avenue, died early Sunday morning, Sept. 29, 2002, at Yale-New Haven Hospital, from injuries sustained as a pedestrian in a motor vehicle accident in Durham. He was the beloved son of Francine Knox Gelinas Kolodziej and Mark S. Gelinas, both of Meriden.



Born May 2, 1987, he was a lifelong Meriden resident, and was a sophomore student at Maloney High School, where he was a member of the Outdoor Adventure Club. An avid outdoorsman, he was a snowboarder, skateboarder, rollerblader, and mountainbiker. He had been active in the Meriden Soccer League, Meriden Boys Club Soccer League, and the Boy Scouts of America, Troop No. 43. He was a parishioner of St. Joseph Church.



Besides his parents, he is survived by his brother, Michael R. Gelinas, a senior student at Maloney High School of Meriden; his maternal grandmother, Dorothea Knox of Meriden; his paternal grandparents, Arthur and Marion Louise Gelinas of Suffield; his stepfather, Joseph P. Kolodziej of Meriden; a stepsister, Kendra L. Kolodziej; and a stepbrother, Joseph D. Kolodziej, both of Wallingford; several aunts, uncles, and cousins; and many dear friends. He was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Robert Knox.



His family will receive relatives and friends at the Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 North Main Street Extension, Wallingford, Wednesday from 4 until 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Thursday from the Wallingford Funeral Home at 9 a.m., when the funeral cortege will proceed to St. Joseph Church, West Main St., Meriden, where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be sent to the Boy Scouts of American, Troop No. 43, c/o St. John Lutheran Church, 520 Paddock Avenue, Meriden, CT 06450.


__________________

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[sunshine93]

I was just out there at the orchard on Saturday. I could not believe the amount of traffic. My sister called me today and asked if I had heard about it. It is very tragic and my heart goes out to the family. I will keep them in my prayers.

[ihvfaith]

Oh how sad!!
Prayers going out here, to all involved.

[buckeyemomma]

This is so sad

I will keep all envolved in my thoughts and prayers.

[sblme28]

thanks to all of you.

today is the wake. im not going to attend, as i HATE wakes and didnt really know him personally. but, my dad and brother are going. its going to be so sad. all his teenage friends there and everything.

tommorrow morning if the funeral. the whole boy scout troop is going to line the walkway of the curch to pay homage. i hope my brother will be ok with it. he's only 13 and never lost a friend his age, just older relatives.