Medical Examiner retiring after 19 years
After more than 19 years, Dr. Frederic Hellman will be leaving his role as Delaware County Medical Examiner this week.
The announcement came Wednesday at the Delaware County Council meeting as a resolution not appearing on the agenda and sandwiched between approval of the minutes from the last meeting and the final reading and approval of an ordinance to create a Board of Managers of Juvenile Detention.
Hellman was not in attendance. Attempts to reach him Thursday were unsuccessful.
His departure comes at a time as COVID-19 seems to be slowing down a bit after a horrific 15 months in which 1,447 county residents have died because of the virus.
Tasked with determining the cause and manner of all unnatural deaths in Delaware County and with performing autopsies, the Medical Examiner’s Office had to be relocated from the Fair Acres Complex in Lima to the area near the Delaware County Emergency Training Facility in Darby Township over the last year and a half because of the need for more space.
“I talked with him a lot during the last 15 months and had some occasions to spend some time with him out at his facilities,” Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek said. “I remember him lining up refrigerated tractor trailers to make sure that he could handle the caseload that he had and just working non-stop to try to get through what was a very difficult time.”
Delaware County Council Vice Chairman Dr. Monica Taylor offered her own words before reading the resolution honoring the outgoing Medical Examiner.
“After a career filled with immense dedication and commitment and compassion to our residents and our families, he is retiring this week,” she said. “So, on behalf of council and the entire
county, I would like to present a resolution recognizing Dr. Hellman’s service to the community, especially during the past 15 months, which have been extremely difficult as we were faced with the tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Last month, county council unanimously approved contracts through the end of December with Dr. Khalil Wardak of Malvern and Dr. Gary Collins of
Newark, Del. to perform autopsies on an on-call basis for Delaware County. Neither are to exceed $150,000.
Delaware County had had a coroner system until 1979, when it was changed to a Medical Examiner system in alignment with the Home Rule Charter and public demand. Coroners are elected positions and Medical Examiners are appointed and must be boardcertified.
Hellman was appointed after his predecessor, Dr. Dimitri Contostavlos, was fired after a ruling involving a Jan. 29, 1999 onecar accident on Route 1 Chester Heights that took the lives of all five teenage girls inside.
Contostavlos said the bloodstream of the driver had significant levels of a chemical found in fluid used for cleaning computer keys when she lost control of the car. State police said an empty spray can of the fluid was found in the car at the crash site. Contostavlos’ opinion that the accident was related to huffing angered the girls’ parents, led to his firing and also focused public attention on the fad of huffing.
As outward as Contostavlos was, Hellman was insular, known, at least in the beginning of his Delaware County career, for having a lag time in coming to conclusion in cases and telling the press he couldn’t release information because it hadn’t been cleared with the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. The Medical Examiner Office is an independent office, responsible to county council and the public.
Regardless of his start, Hellman’s work in the last year was greatly lauded as he and his staff worked to respond to the tragic need created by the pandemic.
Hellman was also noted for his service to the Delaware County Heroin Task Force and his founding of the Suicide Prevention Task Force in Delaware County.
Part of Delaware County Council’s resolution of him read, “Dr. Hellman has assisted families in their time of need, provided support for law enforcement and served as a stabilizing influence to colleagues” while noting his service to the public with “compassion and professionalism.”
Recognizing his service and commitment to Delaware County, council’s resolution concluded, “Delaware County Council expresses appreciation to Dr. Hellman for his service to the community and wish him well in future endeavors.”
In offering his own appreciation for Hellman’s service, Zidek added, “I think everybody in Delaware County owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Hellman. He’s an example of person who works for our community who most people don’t recognize that he’s there until you have a family member who’s lost a loved one and wants to move on and get some closure. Dr. Hellman is there to try to expedite the process and make sure that things run smoothly.”