Jolene Waldref died near a snow-packed bus stop as she waited for a bus at North 76th and West Congress streets earlier this month.
As the investigation into her death continues, it’s unclear what happened to Waldref and whether she suffered a medical episode or fell and injured herself.
Questions are also being raised about whose responsibility it was to clear the stop. Advocates spoke out following Waldref’s death saying the incident brings light to an ongoing problem — failure to properly clear snow for pedestrian travel.
A city ordinance states that clearing snow is the responsibility of the property owner.
William Garrett, the property owner at 7600 W. Congress St., told the Journal Sentinel that he does his best to clear it but the city typically also assists with clearing the stop, which causes more problems. He also said the city’s snow plows are also at fault.
Surveillance footage of the incident shows Waldref and, later, firefighters walking through more than a foot of snow on the sidewalk into the intersection and it appears that the bus stop may have been blocked by plowed snow.