Questions mount regarding a woman’s death near a bus stop in Milwaukee and it’s bringing to light an ongoing problem in the city

Drake Bentley and Alex Groth, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·4 min read
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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.

The Milwaukee County Transit System issued a statement shortly after the incident saying it didn’t have the resources to clear snow from its 4,000 bus stops around the county.

"We rely on municipalities, property owners, and businesses to clear bus stops and sidewalks as described in their local ordinances," the statement read.

Garrett, 57, said he thinks the city cleared that bus stop following the snowfall and before Waldref’s death. “I never, never had to do that,” William Garrett said. “They came and did that themselves. When it comes to that bus stop. Never. Cause they did it.”

Owners or the person in charge of any property are required by city ordinance to remove and clear away any snow or ice on the sidewalk within 24 hours after a storm.

The Department of Public Works does not remove snow from sidewalks or bus stops, said spokesperson Tiffany Shepherd.

However, snowplows do push mounds of snow onto the sidewalk, and DPW workers will return to remove the snow from the lip of the sidewalk, which is often around the bus stop, Shephard said.

"We don't want to push up a huge amount of snow on the bus stop. We don't want to create any more of a hazard," said Shephard. "But residents are required to clear off sidewalks."

Garrett has owned the apartment building for 20-plus years. He said MCTS, the county, or the city has never properly communicated to him how or who should handle snow removal at the bus stop, something he suspects is the case for thousands of property owners with nearby bus stops.

“They stated in a newsletter that they want the property owner, business people to do it. It’s not on any paperwork saying this is your responsibility. Even though I clear it out when they come through.”

He added that he is aware that MCTS often puts the responsibility on property owners as opposed to the government. But Garrett said the main issue is the city’s plow trucks.

“I can’t control the city when they block you back in,” he said. “I cannot stop that. They do it all the time. I clear it out. They do it again. I can’t be out there in 22-below weather when it’s like that.”

“They can’t blame me for something like that because the city comes in with that big truck and just puts (snow) on it. I cleared that out several times and they come and do it again. I can’t control that. I can’t control that."

Jolene Waldref, 49, of South Milwaukee died Jan. 15 after investigators say she slipped and fell on ice at a bus stop in Milwaukee. In subzero temperatures, she likely died of hypothermia, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner said.
Jolene Waldref, 49, of South Milwaukee died Jan. 15 after investigators say she slipped and fell on ice at a bus stop in Milwaukee. In subzero temperatures, she likely died of hypothermia, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner said.

Waldref left her job at Life Touches Home Healthcare and walked to the intersection of North 76th and West Congress streets to the bus stop. Surveillance footage shows her leaning on the fence and eventually sitting down before becoming unresponsive. Waldref called 911 and dispatchers gave the call a low priority and sent an ambulance from the private Curtis Ambulance to search for her.

Crew members with Curtis were dispatched to the intersection and did not get out of their truck to look for her. Instead, the crew spent about a few minutes looking out the windows of their truck for the woman as they drove through the intersection.

Dispatchers called Waldref's cell phone twice but she did not answer, and the crew left the scene. Two bystanders later called 911 while standing next to Waldref. The call had a higher priority and paramedics from the Milwaukee Fire Department were sent to the scene and attempted to revive Waldref but could not.

More: Timeline of Milwaukee bus stop freezing death, from her 911 call to response from ambulance, fire

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee property owner speaks out following bus stop death