Killed in the line of duty

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'This should not have happened' 

By JENNIFER MILLER, staff writer 
 
Staff photo by Tom Kelly IVPhoto Gallery from funeral
UNITY — No one will ever know the type of state trooper Kenton E. Iwaniec would have been in 20 years, the arrests he would have made, or the protection he would have provided.

No one will ever know what could have become of Iwaniec’s dream career, which ended barely three months after its start.

No one will ever know because while driving home after his shift at the Avondale state police barracks on March 27, a driver who was reportedly intoxicated crashed into his car. He died the next day. He was 24.

After graduating from the state police academy on Dec. 21, 2007, Iwaniec had hoped to make his way to a barracks in southwestern Pennsylvania where he grew up and his family and fiancée still reside. But his first assignment was lined up for him in southern Chester County.

He gladly took the position, happy to be officially working as a state trooper. But according to state police Chaplain Robert Byrnes, who Iwaniec became close with during training, Iwaniec was confident he would make his way back to Troop A in his family’s neck of the woods.

“Don’t worry father, I’ll make it back to Troop A,” Byrnes recalled Iwaniec saying.

Byrnes recounted his time with Iwaniec at the funeral Friday, inside St. Vincent Basilica Parish, roughly 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Iwaniec was then laid to rest at Fairmont Cemetery in Cook Township. Roughly 160 state troopers attended the services, along with hundreds of family members and friends.

Iwaniec was born on Dec. 18, 1983, in Greensburg to parents Kenneth and Debra Garchar Iwaniec of Ligonier. At Ligonier Valley High School he played football and ice hockey before graduating in 2002. He was engaged to Julie Kromer of Greensburg.

A 2007 graduate of St. Vincent’s College, Iwaniec was a devout Catholic who acted as an altar server for more than 10 years at St. Boniface Parish in Chestnut Ridge. Then, while at the academy, he regularly helped set up for Saturday night Mass, Byrnes said.

Avondale trooper Gabriel Fabian attended the academy with Iwaniec. Friday, he described Iwaniec as “a man of character” who was serious about police work and who other troopers enjoyed being around.

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 “There was too much goodness in his life,” Fabian said. So much goodness that it spilled over into the lives of everyone Iwaniec encountered, he said.

Sashonna Zacour, one of Iwaniec’s three sisters, said her brother was a brave, honorable, young man. She said she feared he would die while on the job because he was a police officer, possibly taking a bullet in the line of duty.

The way he did die she did not expect.

“I always feared that I would be at his funeral,” she said. “However, I thought it would’ve been for different circumstances.”

Yet, Zacour said through tears, perhaps her brother’s death helped save another life. Perhaps, she said, the way her brother died, in some way, prevented the death of the 5-year-old boy in the back seat of the alleged drunk driver who crashed into Iwaniec’s car. (See related story.)

Zacour encouraged loved ones to celebrate her brother’s life and remember the positive times they shared with him. Then she recalled one of her favorite memories: Iwaniec called a radio station to request his favorite song, “Spirit in the Sky,” on the family’s drive home after one of his high school hockey games.

About an hour went by and his family was skeptical he’d hear his song. But, Zacour said, her brother was very optimistic, insisting the station would play it. Just as the family hit their exit ramp for home, the station dedicated the song to Iwaniec.

“I think it’s the perfect experience of how he lived his life,” Zacour said.

A moment later, the notes to “Spirit in the Sky” poured into the church over top the mourners. Zacour asked everyone to sing along and clap in honor of her brother. Soon his family was standing, clapping in memory of their son, brother, fiancé, grandson and nephew.

Before the clapping, though, there were moments when the question was raised — Why did Iwaniec die so young?

Soon after learning of Iwaniec’s death, Byrnes said he questioned whether it was a mistake.

“The thought came to mind — This should not have happened,” Byrnes said. “This boy should not have died, and I began to cry.”

Byrnes said many of Iwaniec’s loved ones are likely also asking “Why?” But he said attempting to understand why would be useless, instead they should lean on their faith.

“The search for an explanation is an exercise in futility,” he said. “Our great deed is not so much to understand it as it is to accept the reality of what has taken place … There is no simple solution for the hurt in our hearts today … Reach down today in your heart and find that faith and take hold of it and don’t let go.”

But the fact that Iwaniec never had a chance to return to Troop A on his own terms brought Byrnes to tears on Friday.

“Trooper Kenton Iwaniec, today you are back in Troop A … You’re not in Troop A by order of state police Commissioner Col. Jeffrey Miller, but you’re here today by God’s design. Today you will be laid to rest in Troop A territory … If God has state police patrolling the highways of heaven, you will be one of the very best,” Byrnes said.

To contact staff writer Jennifer Miller, send an e-mail to jmiller@dailylocal.com.
 

By JENNIFER MILLER, Staff Writer 
This week, after Avondale Trooper Kenton E. Iwaniec was laid to rest Friday, police are expected to file homicide charges against the woman who was allegedly intoxicated when her car crashed into the trooper’s.

The attorney for Kristina M. Quercetti, 40, of Landenberg, said just before Iwaniec’s funeral in western Pennsylvania that his client is “remorseful” after the March 27 incident on Route 41 in London Grove.

Quercetti was reportedly “substantially” intoxicated when her vehicle crossed the center line and collided with Iwaniec’s car.

“My client and her entire family are extremely remorseful that this tragic accident occurred, and their hearts go out to the trooper’s and his family,” said Lionville attorney Thomas H. Ramsay.

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 Iwaniec was flown to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., where he died the next day from his injuries.

Quercetti was treated for minor injuries to her foot. Quercetti’s 5-year-old son was in the back seat of her car at the time of the crash, but he was not injured.

A third vehicle driven by Larry Keith, 64, of Ephrata, was involved in the crash. He was not injured and was able to drive away.

Last week Ramsay said he was informed by law enforcement that homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and other charges will be filed against Quercetti this week.

While Ramsay is waiting for the test results of his client’s blood-alcohol content, he said law enforcement has indicated she had a significantly high BAC, which would very likely exceed the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

In addition to homicide, Quercetti is expected to face charges related to her 5-year-old son being in the car at the time of the crash, Ramsay said.

To contact staff writer Jennifer Miller, send an e-mail to jmiller@dailylocal.com.
 

 
SHE ASKS TO BEGIN HER SENTENCE FOR CAUSING CRASH THAT KILLED STATE TROOPER 
By JENNIFER MILLER, Staff Writer 
AVONDALE — The woman accused of causing the death of a young state trooper sobbed Tuesday morning as a district judge read aloud the investigators’ account of what happened on the night of the drunken-driving crash.

Kristina M. Quercetti, 40, of Landenberg, was intoxicated, speeding and driving with her headlights off when her vehicle crashed into 24-year-old Kenton E. Iwaniec’s personal car on March 27, according to the arrest affidavit filed by state police at Avondale.

Quercetti’s attorney indicated she did not intend to fight the charges against her and was ready to start serving an anticipated prison sentence Tuesday.

While leaving the courtroom, Quercetti said to reporters, “I just can’t express how sorry I am.”

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 Iwaniec was a native of western Pennsylvania who joined the Avondale barracks in January. He was heading to his Lancaster home after work when the crash happened about 10:15 p.m. on Route 41 near Mosquito Lane in London Grove.

Authorities said Quercetti was driving 73 mph with her headlights off when she crossed the road’s center line and hit Iwaniec’s car head-on. Quercetti’s blood-alcohol content was 0.34 percent, records say, which is more than four times the state’s 0.08 percent legal limit. She also had Oxycodone in her system, police said.

Authorities said they found a partially full bottle of vodka and 20 Oxycodone pills wrapped in cellophane inside Quercetti’s purse in her vehicle.

Iwaniec was flown to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., where he died the next day during surgery, police said. Delaware Medical Examiner Jennie Vershvousky said Iwaniec died from the multiple blunt force injuries suffered in the crash, records say.

Quercetti’s 4-year-old son was in the back seat of her car at the time of the crash and was uninjured, police said.

At her arraignment Tuesday, Quercetti cried and leaned into the defendant’s table with her head in her hands as Magisterial District Judge Thomas Martin Jr. read aloud the affidavit.

Quercetti, who suffered a minor injury in the crash, was wearing a black brace over her left foot and calf. She also used a walker to get from the state police barracks to the district court next door. She was accompanied by her mother, who also cried during the arraignment.

After hearing the charges, Thomas Ramsay, the attorney representing Quercetti after the crash, told Martin his client would not be posting bail. Instead, he said, his client wanted to immediately go to prison to start serving her anticipated sentence.

Before the arraignment, Ramsay said, “Kristina recognizes that her actions caused an innocent young man with a promising career in law enforcement to lose his life. So, although the family has the financial ability to post bail, she has decided to begin serving her sentence now in recognition of the tragic consequences of her driving behavior.”

State police charged Quercetti with homicide by vehicle while under the influence, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and related charges.

Outside the courtroom, Ramsay said he expects his client to plead guilty and let a judge determine her sentence. The charge of homicide by vehicle while under the influence carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of three years.

Her attorney said Quercetti’s courtroom tears were “for the trooper, for the trooper’s family and for her son. She cries for herself last.”

First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Carmody said the circumstances surrounding the crash — the speed, the opened bottle of alcohol, the child’s involvement and the turned-off headlights — are “shocking.”

“Any homicide by vehicle is tragic … but what’s unusual in this case is the extreme recklessness of it,” Carmody said from his office.

Carmody said he is still working to determine what sentence he will ask a judge to hand out. But he said Quercetti opting to go to prison now will “make sense to the public because she’s off the street.”

The move also helps her earn credit in Chester County Prison toward her anticipated state prison sentence, Carmody said.

After Quercetti was taken to prison, state trooper Corey Monthei read a prepared statement at the Avondale barracks.

“Our thoughts are with both families involved in this tragic accident,” Monthei said.

Iwaniec graduated from the state police academy in January. Cpl. Steven Ranck, one of the crash’s investigators, was Iwaniec’s supervisor. Ranck said less than a week before Iwaniec’s death he was put into a patrol car on his own.

“He was a great guy ... a real bubbly person,” Ranck said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he would’ve made an excellent state trooper.”

Iwaniec was born Dec. 18, 1983, in Greensburg to parents Kenneth and Debra Garchar Iwaniec of Ligonier. He had three sisters. He was engaged to marry Julie Kromer of Greensburg.

At Ligonier Valley High School, he played football and ice hockey before graduating in 2002.

A 2007 graduate of St. Vincent’s College, Iwaniec was a devout Catholic who acted as an altar server for more than 10 years at St. Boniface Parish in Chestnut Ridge. Then, while at the academy, he regularly helped set up for Saturday night Mass.

After an April 4 funeral at St. Vincent Basilica Parish, roughly 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Iwaniec was buried at Fairmont Cemetery in Cook Township. Roughly 160 state troopers attended the services with hundreds of Iwaniec’s family members and friends.

To contact staff writer Jennifer Miller, send an e-mail to jmiller@dailylocal.com.