Stasia Jozwiak: Elderly woman dies after being trapped in car for hours amid deadly blizzard in NY
BUFFALO, NEW YORK: An elderly mother who was out shopping to cook dinner for her children tragically died after being trapped in her car as an unprecedented blizzard brought the city to a halt, with freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.
The food went cold at Edie Syta's home as she and her brother received the heartbreaking news that their mother Stasia Jozwiak, 73, who drove to the supermarket on Friday, December 23, 2022, wasn't coming back. At the time of publication, at least 64 people lost their lives in the blizzard that has ravaged at least a dozen states. Officials said that Erie County, New York, accounted for more than half the death toll at 33, with 28 reported just in Buffalo.
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Jozwiak's loved ones prayed for a miracle despite knowing full well that she wouldn't be coming back. “You hope for the freaking best and you want the best, and everyone’s praying and everyone wants a miracle, and it doesn’t turn out that way,” Edie told NBC News through tears. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz revealed that there were many among the dead who perished from heart problems while shoveling or blowing snow. He said the white-out, which he described as a "once in a lifetime" storm, also killed many people in their cars.
Jozwiak reportedly wanted to buy fresh fish on Friday afternoon in order to make a traditional Polish meal for Christmas Eve. However, her red Chevy Cobalt got stuck in a snowdrift, her devastated daughter told NBC News. The doting mother asked for prayers when she spoke to Edie around 7 pm that evening. She had been trapped in her car for about five hours at the time. “She said, ‘I need a miracle from God. Can you please pray for me?’ She said she loved me. I told her I loved her, too," Edie recalled. “I said, ‘Hold tight. We’re coming from you.'" Edie and her husband tried everything they could to pull their truck out of the snow to rescue Stasia, but even their four-wheel drive pick-up truck with snow tires couldn't get anywhere.
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Stasia eventually stopped picking up her phone about two hours later, prompting her daughter to call the authorities multiple times. She even called the National Guard, the phone company, storm hotlines, and any friends and acquaintances who could possibly help. Furthermore, Edie's spouse reportedly spent hours on foot trying to locate Stasia, but in vain. Edie's friends, who loved her mother and endearing called her "Mama", set out on Christmas to bring her home. As fate would have it, the group found Stasia's red Chevy around 8 pm and her body inside the vehicle. “It was such a shock. I go through my emotions like a roller coaster," Edie told NBC News. “I don’t want to believe it," she added through tears.