‘ Way more support than we expected’
STRATFORD — Bernard Jeanty turned 46 Friday but spent his birthday consulting with doctors instead of celebrating with family.
The Stratford resident and father of three has been a patient at Stamford Hospital for more than two weeks since a crash on the Merritt Parkway forced doctors to amputate his right leg above the knee.
People who heard about the accident and its aftermath and members of Jeanty’s church have stepped up to try to help a man described as a good man and strong church goer.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family — Jeanty; his wife, Wilda; daughters Darlyne, 25, and Beverly, 17; and a son, Giovanny, 16 — had raised $ 22,595 of a goal of $ 65,000 as of Friday.
“We’ve gotten way more support than we expected,” said Wadline Emmanuel, a niece who lives with them.
Jeanty, an Uber driver, was headed north on his way home about 9: 30 p. m. Feb. 4 when he stopped to give a jump start to a vehicle that had broken down on the side of the road near Exit 31 in Greenwich, according to police reports at the time.
Jeanty was returning to his Toyota Highlander after rendering assistance when two approaching vehicles collided with each other, then with Jeanty, his vehicle and the one he had just jump- started, police said.
No other injuries were reported. State police are investigating. No charges have been filed.
Jeanty was rushed to the hospital for treatment — but his family initially had no idea what had happened to him, Emmanuel said.
Worried, the family reported Jeanty’s absence to the police.
“Eventually the cops came by and told us he was in Stamford Hospital,” Emmanuel said.
She said the family has been visiting as much as possible.
“He’s still going through a lot of surgeries right now,” Emmanuel said.
The absence of a breadwinner has hit the family hard.
“He did everything for us,” Emmanuel, 20, said.
It’s unclear when Jeanty will get out of the hospital, but whenever it is, he’ll have to undergo extensive rehabilitation and physical therapy, his family said.
The family moved to Stratford from Bridgeport 12 years ago.
Friends from the French- Speaking Baptist Church of Bridgeport, where the family worships, have also stepped up.
The support has been “very, very, very helpful,” Emmanuel said. “This morning, a few of the people from his church actually came over to clean the snow from our driveway.”
Jeanty’s best friend, Joe Roche, said Jeanty would do the same for his own family whenever Roche’s truck- driving job drew him away.
“I’d call and let him know,” Roche said. “He’d come and help my wife clean out.”
Roche said he befriended Jeanty through the church, which serves the area’s Haitian community.
Jeanty is an usher and also sings in the choir.
“He’s just very churchoriented,” Emmanuel said. “He does everything in the church.”
“He’s a very good guy, always trying to help people,” Roche said. “He’s my brother. It’s just so hard for me.”