HANOVER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Many of our local state police officers bundled up and faced the conditions Saturday, but not to make an arrest.
Pennsylvania State Police put on their running sneakers to honor one of their own at the Troop P Wilkes-barre Kenton Iwaniec 5k memorial run on Saturday morning.
Trooper Iwaniec lost his life to a drunk driver in 2008. His family and band of PSP brothers and sisters have been spreading awareness on the dangers of driving intoxicated since.
“We have a lot of guys around here that, you know, want to raise awareness about everything the Iwaniecs do for and not driving while impaired so we wanted to make it easier for guys around here to get involved,” said Bill Evans the Public Information Officer Troop P.
Trooper Iwaniec’s family began the memorial foundation that bears his name in 2009.
Their mission? To provide state and local law enforcement with preliminary breath testing devices.
“We were part of the DUI annual conference and we went to different sessions and my dad went to one about the breathalyzers. These preliminary breath testing devices and he said, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to be able to put a PBT in every state police barracks in Kenton’s honor?’ and my mom was like, ‘yeah, we can do that, we’ll raise funds.’ and then it just took off,” explained Acacia Houck the Sister of Trooper.
The foundation has raised more than one million dollars and distributed about 2500 PBTs since its inception.
“I know a lot of local departments do have not the funding that we do as a state, so it’s good that they can get PBTs and they can get out there and be more proactive and get more drunks off the road,” continued Trooper Alex Barretts a state trooper and patrol.
“Being in a small department, you know, we don’t have all the funds that we can to be able to produce all them for all the officers, so for me to be able to get it then I can go out and patrol a little bit more knowing that I have one of these,” says Adam Fulkersin Patrolman Scott Township PD.
The success of the foundation would not be possible without the support of the Pennsylvania State Police.
They could be out in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but they’re all brothers to us. We all went to the same academy, it was 27 long weeks. So when something happens on the job, it hits home no matter what, no matter what part of the state it is,” added Trooper Barretts.
“They have just taken us in as part of their family as well. and we realized how much that brotherhood, that my brother felt as being part of the state police really how true that is,” said Houck
This relationship that formed from the tragic loss of Trooper Iwaniec will keep his memory alive through events like the memorial run.
“Even if these portable breathalyzers take one dangerous driver off the road, saves one life. I mean, that makes all of this worth it to us,” added Trooper Evans.
At just this event alone, the Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation provided over 30 breathalyzers for northeastern Pennsylvania to continue the fight against impaired driving.
To learn more about the Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation and any upcoming events they plan to hold check out their website.
