Former resident mourned

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    EAST WINDSOR, Conn. — A tragic accident claimed the life of former Silver Ridge resident, 15-year-old Joseph Schweitzer, who died Dec. 11 of cardiac arrest after clinging to life for a week. 
    The teenager had been declared brain dead while in a coma following the accident Dec. 5 in East Windsor where he had been living with his mother, step-father and siblings. Reportedly, the teenager was biking with friends on Route 5 when 16-year-old driver Jacob Charette of South Windsor, traveling with his father as a passenger, struck Schweitzer. The injured teen was transported initially to Hartford Hospital and later moved to a nearby children’s hospital to treat his brain injuries.
    Capt. Roger T. Hart has been quoted as saying the accident, which occurred around 4:30 p.m., caused “serious blunt force trauma to the entire body,” and he didn’t believe Schweitzer was wearing a bicycle helmet at the time of the accident. He also said the police don’t anticipate filing any charges against Charette.
    Jennifer Lanphear, a cousin from Silver Ridge now living in Brewer, said the family is taking it extremely hard and dealing with the shock. She said a wake was to be held Monday in Connecticut with a funeral on Tuesday. A memorial will be held Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., Dec. 21 at the Monarda Church in Silver Ridge.  Her mother, Pauline Raines, said “Joey will be dearly missed by all and he was a great nephew.” Raines said young Schweitzer lived with her for eight years before being returned to his mother and she remembers him as being “very happy and lively.”
    Lanphear remembers her cousin “as boy who had a rough life and made the best of it. She said he lost his best friend who died of a chronic illness and he also lost the close relationship he had with her father who  died of ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease. “He was happy, loyal, always smiling and wanted people around him because they meant so much to him. Joey was a member of the ski club and he worked to keep the school open by writing letters and going on TV,” she recalled.     
    A former teacher, Barbara Worster, said she knew him as a student and family friend when he attended the Benedicta School. “He was a good kid with lots of friends. And, he was a good student who worked hard.” She says she taught him from the fourth through the seventh grades and he stayed in touch with his friends after he moved with his family to East Windsor.
    Schweitzer would have turned 16 in March. His cousin says his organs will be donated to help others.