Lazarus Tomb founder Rosetta Lecocq hurt in crash heading home from reunion gathering
A founder of a Christian coffeehouse in Arnold was hurt in a crash on her way home from a gathering for its 50th anniversary Friday.
Rosetta Lecocq, 85, remained at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh on Monday, where she was taken by ambulance after being in a one-vehicle crash on Craigdell Road in Lower Burrell.
“I’m so thankful I was able to enjoy the evening before this happened,” Lecocq said.
Lecocq and her late husband, Bob, founded Lazarus Tomb in Lower Burrell in 1972. It has been on Fifth Avenue in Arnold since 2008 and is now known as The Tomb.
People whose lives were touched by the coffeehouse, some returning from out of state, gathered there to celebrate the anniversary with Lecocq on Friday night.
The crash on Craigdell near the Pittsburgh Ice Arena was reported to authorities about 10:40 p.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. Reported by a passerby, it came in as an overturned vehicle with an elderly woman trapped inside.
Lecocq said she was heading back to her home off Craigdell Road and was coming down the hill when her SUV went off the left side of the road and rolled over. She was alone in her vehicle and believes she might have blacked out or fainted.
Earlier that night, Lecocq said she was scheduled for a heart catheterization Monday.
Lecocq said she had been wearing a seat belt. She said she suffered injuries to her neck and back, including a crushed vertebrae in her lower back. In a phone call Monday, she said she was in a lot of pain, wearing a neck brace and undergoing tests.
Her own dog, Sicily, was being trained as a therapy dog. Sicily wasn’t with Lecocq at the time of the crash, but is now with her at the hospital.
“I never thought I would be the first patient she came to see,” she said.
Shannon Santucci, who took over ownership of The Tomb earlier this year, had been out of town and unable to attend Friday night’s event.
People will be praying for Lecocq to heal quickly, Santucci said.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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