Motherhood is often rightly associated with sacrifice. Images of angelic mothers with wings is not a far-fetched portrayal according to the surmise of many. This past Mother's Day, however, a New York mother made the ultimate sacrifice for her teenage daughter.
Despite the whirlwind-nature of the moment, there was no hesitation as to a decision. The mother-daughter duo, Diane and Jenna, had just left Mass and were walking to a bakery when a Toyota sped in reverse in their direction. Moving her daughter out of harm's way, Diane Aluska, 56, was left pinned against a wall, fatally injured. The driver, Ann Riolo, 80, who thought her vehicle was geared to "drive," had unwittingly made the mistake. Following was a freak accident that no one coud prepare for.
"She did not put the car in drive, thought she had, and hit the gas, The car arched back towards the sidewalk, missing three parked cars and hitting the two women," Police Detective Sgt. James Murphy insisted, a witness to the recording.
Diane was transferred to a nearby hospital, along with her daughter as well as the elderly driver, where she died shortly after.
"There is no doubt she saved her daughter’s life,” Murphy continued. While 16-year-old Jenna was merely "clipped," Diana was killed, receiving the brunt of the force. The scattered mess of carnations and bakery contents were further evidence of the occurrence.
“Diane Aluska … put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder and attempted to push her out of the way," the officer additionally noted.
All were injured in the process, but both the elderly Riono as well as Aluska's daughter Jenna are expected to recover. Their condition was last confirmed as "stable." While custom requires that that 2005 Toyota be taken in for inspection, police are calling the incident an accident, and no charges are expected to be pressed.
Tragically, Jenna has yet to learn of her mother's passing.
“She doesn’t know,” Mr. Kenneth Aluska, Jenna's father and Diane's husband, stated, “Me and her brother have to tell her.”
Certainly prayers must be lifted up for the well-being of this family. Where Mother's Day is a holiday intended for rejoicing, Jenna and her family will certainly be grieving. The news of her mother's situation will undoubtedly present a blow in need of emotional and psychological healing from the Great Physician.
Diane was a mother of three; Jenna was her youngest.
"No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:3)."
