Chicago area resident John Wrana, a 95 year old WWII war hero, died from injuries sustained in an incident, which was later ruled as a homicide by the medical examiner. Police were called to Victory Centre, an assisted living facility, when it was reported by staff that Wrana was being “combative,” resisting medical treatment and “threatening” people with………a two foot shoehorn. Or was it a cane?
Either way, when police arrived, Wrana was conducting his “altercation” from his chair. Staff told police they wanted them to come back in the room and try to calm him down, but it became an official police action and the fuzz would have none of it.
So the cops stormed the room with riot shields, ordered the man to surrender, tased him first then bean bagged him.
In case you’ve dozed off, or are semi illiterate like Harley, let me reiterate; the suspect was a 95 year old WWII hero, armed with a shoe horn!
Wrana was conscious when he arrived at a local hospital but died in the early morning hours. The autopsy found Wrana died from being shot in the stomach with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with bean-bag ammo.
At times there were between five and seven police officers in the room.
Wrana’s step-daughter Sharon Mangerson described Wrana as a “very vital 95-year-old” and “as independent as they come,” but she didn’t think he was dangerous.
Regardless, he’s just as dead.
Too bad I didn’t have this one teed up for my “man card” story.
From just outside Center, Missouri, comes a story to leave a smile on your face.
Driving her 300 Mercedes sedan at 9 a.m., 19 year old Katie Lentz thought it was just another day, until the accident.
Lentz found herself trapped impossibly between the steering wheel, her seat, the door and about anything else that was left of her car that could now barely be recognized as the make and model of what she was driving.
Death became a closer reality than life in a split second.
First responders arrived and struggled for nearly an hour to free her as her condition failed rapidly. Conscious enough to realize her plight, Lentz asked the workers and onlookers if someone could “pray out loud” for her.
It was then, seemingly from nowhere, a priest appeared carrying anointing oil. Various witnesses described him as tanned, speaking with an accent, long, graying hair and dressed all in black with a clerical collar.
The Priest prayed and held the Rosary over Lentz as the first responders continued to fail to free her from the mangled wreckage. The rescue team, losing heart in their ability to save her after a one hour struggle, became more and more concerned. The equipment they had was not strong enough to cut through the German steel.
The Priest finished praying, turned to the workers and said that they would be able to free her soon and she would be fine.
Seconds later an unexpected backup rescue unit arrived on the scene from a neighboring town with better, stronger jaws of life equipment and cut her out of the car.
The first responders looked around, amazed at what they had been told and what had happened, but the priest was gone.
It’s reported that there are now 68 pictures taken by various people of the crash scene, and the Priest doesn’t appear in any of them even though he was there for half an hour.
“I think it’s a miracle,” New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed said. “I would say whether it was an angel that was sent to us in the form of a priest or a priest that became our angel, I don’t know. Either way, I’m good with it.”
The EMS team said there is no way Lentz should have lived through the crash. She believes the man may have been “an angel dressed in priest’s attire because the Bible tells us there are angels among us.”
Lentz is at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, IL in serious condition and has undergone surgery for sustained injuries, including a broken femur, broken ribs, a lacerated liver, a ruptured spleen and a bruised lung
I’m not going to get all preachy on you, but I’m with Lentz.
That wasn’t a priest. They only come to boys.
Your very best yet Paul!
🙂
Chuck, some how the main line got dropped, Hearne just put it back in, but it’s what MADE the priest story;
The Priest finished praying, turned to the workers and said that they would be able to free her soon and she would be fine.
Then….unexpectedly, back up arrived with better extrication tools.
Pretty contemplative scene.
I agree! Two stories in juxtaposition … The second reminding us that there are angels among us!
Thanks, Chuck, you’re too kind.
Two great stories As I am sitting by the river in downtown Chicago. I will walk back to my hotel and not drive my Mercedes and I will hide my giant shoehorn. Chicago Cops will not take me down and I’m not counting on another angelic sighting in Illinois in the same year.
If you’re sitting by the river, stop by Dicks Last Resort, ON the river. It’s between Navy Pier and Sheraton. My fav spot in Chicago outside of House of Blues.
I remember those days, McCormick Place by day, downtown by the river at night. I think it was fun or least I tell myself it was.