Friends, family, coworkers support mother after vehicle crash
Following a vehicle crash that sent her to the hospital, Cheyenne Safranek is realizing what a positive impact a community can have in a time of need.
Safranek, a mother of four who works two jobs, sustained injuries to her back, leg, hips and pelvis following a crash last weekend at the intersection of Route 356 and Fisher Road in Jefferson Township.
Days later, her boss from Over the Top Truck Wash in Harrisville started a GoFundMe page to help her family while she recovers. With a $10,000 goal, the page has garnered nearly $3,000 in funds.
“On my first day of work at both jobs, I had no idea that, through the amount of time knowing these people, I would develop such great relationships with them,” she said. “I’m grateful to be alive and breathing given the circumstances. It was by the grace of God I made it out alive.”
The two-vehicle crash occurred around 10 p.m. last Saturday, and Safranek had to be extracted from the vehicle and taken to the hospital by helicopter for her injuries.
According to Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company’s assistant chief Mike Krchelich, two vehicles were involved in the T-bone crash at the Fisher and North Pike Road intersection. The driver of the other vehicle was not transported from the scene, and neither vehicle had other passengers, he said.
According to Safranek, her fiancé Robert Lockskin, sister, mother and father have been by her side since the crash.
“My family is pretty shaken up with the accident,” she said. “When the fire department cut me out of the car, my whole family made it to the scene to make sure I was okay.”
Safranek said she also works at the Field House restaurant in Cabot, and the support she’s received from her family and both places of work is remarkable.
“It makes me happy to know that I have all of these friends, family, bosses, coworkers and customers that care so much about me,” she said.
She added that she was surprised her boss from Over the Top Truck Wash, Paul Galater, started the fundraiser for her.
“When my boss started the GoFundMe, I was shocked but overjoyed at the same time,” she said.
On the page, a picture of Safranek’s children Aubriee, Isabella, Mariah and Caidden shows their smiling faces above Galater’s message.
“(Safranek) is a mother of four young children and works two jobs to provide for them. She was in a horrible car accident on Route 356, leaving her second job,” he wrote. “She an awesome mother and hard worker that has a long road to recovery. I think as a community we can pull together and help this family in need.”
Safranek said she received surgery for some of her injuries and wouldn’t be able to work for the foreseeable future.
“The funds from the GoFundMe will be used on home necessities such as bills and rent due to me not being able to work for a while,” she said.
With the support of so many, she added that she is recovering at a “timely pace.”
“There’s no set time amount on how long it will take to recover due to the amount of injuries my body has sustained,” she said. “Attention is the one thing I’m not looking for. Like I said, I’m just beyond grateful for every single person in my life, and overall, I’m grateful to be alive.”
Safranek said she was thankful to her bosses at both jobs, as they’ve been checking in on her periodically throughout her healing journey.
“Each and every person that has reached out or checked on me in any way at all will hold the most special place in my heart,” she said. “I have a very long road ahead of me to recover, but with the help of everyone that cares so much about me and my amazing (physical therapist) and trauma team and my four beautiful children, I will make it out on top and back at tip-top shape in no time.”
To donate to the GoFundMe for Safranek’s family, visit https://gofund.me/4d40e198.
