by Hank Brockett
2/12/03
As Carlson arrived at the intersection of Mississippi Avenue and Route 53 in Elwood early Thursday morning, she planned to continue in what had dominated her life since retiring last spring.
Thursday marked St. Paul United Church of Christ’s day for volunteering at the Shepherd’s Table food pantry at Joliet’s Daybreak Shelter. As a parishioner from the Manhattan church, Carlson was on her way to prepare a hot meal for the less fortunate.
Just as she pulled away, though, the car being driven by the 56-year-old woman described by one friend as “just the neatest person” collided with an oncoming southbound GMC truck. After the collision, both the truck and Carlson’s Oldsmobile Cutlass slid into the center median.
Carlson sustained critical injuries and less than an hour later was pronounced dead.
The driver of the truck, 24-year-old Timothy Hindman of Joliet, was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in stable condition. His Johansen & Anderson heating and air conditioning truck ended up on its passenger side, tipping over a truck full of tools and supplies.
As rescue personnel from the Illinois State Police, Elwood Fire Department and Elwood Fire Department secured the scene, southbound traffic was diverted for a few hours through Elwood’s downtown. And while police investigated —eventually concluding that no excessive speed, alcohol or vision impairments appeared to be factors in the accident — word spread. By mid-afternoon, Carlson’s many friends came together at area churches to grieve.
‘A wonderful lady’
Pastor Carol Currier-Frighetto first met Carlson in 1996. Soon after marrying her husband Jim, the couple moved into their Elwood residence and Carlson sought a church closer to her new home. In the process, Currier-Frighetto said Carlson found a bevy of new friends.
“She was just a wonderful lady,” she said.
On Feb. 2, Carlson had just accepted a position as the vice president of the St. Paul church council. The position marked another leadership role for the former kindergarten and first grade teacher of 35 years in the Calumet Park School District, who retired in May 2002.
“Which is a joke when you know Jean because she’s always doing something, “ said Currier-Frighetto.
The title of vice president came as an addition to other titles within the church, including a board member on the Christian education board, chair of pastor-parish relations and chair of the history/memory group commemorating the church’s 100th anniversary.
“She definitely knew God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit,” said Currier-Frighetto. “It’s just a part of who she was.”
And to Currier-Frighetto, the plans that led her to that intersection on Thursday came as no surprise.
“She was just doing another good thing for someone else,” she said.
At Carlson’s funeral on Tuesday, friends from throughout her lifetime came together in Manhattan. And though time and location separated the assembled, Currier-Frighetto said there was an interconnectedness created by the great soprano singer who avoided the spotlight of a solo during church songs.
“We’ll probably find out for a while now the things she was doing that others weren’t aware of,” she said.
Four months ago, Illinois Department of Transportation officials conducted a study on the viability of a stoplight at the Mississippi/Illinois 53 intersection.
The study was conducted as part of preliminary plans for the Mississippi Avenue redesign. And while Elwood looks to grow significantly even by the time Mississippi is completed in 2005, the answer came back just the same — not enough traffic to warrant a control light.
When completed, the street project will turn the present-day awkward angle into a 90-degree intersection. While that may make viewing traffic to the south easier on drivers, the increased traffic still could create safety concerns at the intersection.
Village President Bob Blum said the study exemplified an error in philosophy by state officials.
“In our system, you can’t anticipate having the traffic,” he said in regards to considering projected traffic patterns.
Until the traffic increases, especially from the eastern side of the intersection now consisting of farmland, Blum believes plans for increased traffic safety measures will remain an unfulfilled need.
- Hank Brockett