The weather was beautiful as Tom and Angela Janecek drove through the Iowa countryside in their red, 1966 Impala.
It was Easter Sunday and the Saunders County deputy and his wife were heading to Beebee Town, Iowa, for dinner. Classic tunes played on the car radio. Because the older car had no air conditioning, they’d rolled down all the windows.
They’d reached Missouri Valley, Iowa, when another car veered into their lane.
Angela remembers the moments right before the crash.
“We were coming around a bend and he said, ‘Hang on,’” she recalled. “(Tom) grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it as far to the right as he could to protect me, because the white car was in our lane and we were going to collide.”
Multiple injuries and months later, they continue to recover from an accident that could have claimed their lives.
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As a roads deputy for the sheriff’s office in Wahoo, Tom has seen many collisions. He looks at the photograph of their mangled Impala after the crash.
“I’ve worked a lot of accidents,” he said, “And if you had shown me that picture, the first thing I would have thought was, ‘How many people were killed?’”
Today, the Janeceks are recovering in the Omaha home, where he grew up. Tom worked for the Bloomfield Police Department and Knox County Sheriff’s Office before coming to Saunders County, where he’s served for 20 years.
He just retired from working with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program for years, but has continued as a roads deputy.
Angela is a licensed practical nurse and most recently has been working in mental health nursing. Her red Jeep bears information about mental health and suicide awareness. People who see the Jeep often stop and tell her their struggles and she provides resource materials.
“I’m very much a mental health advocate,” she said.
The Janeceks, who knew each other when they attended Ralston High School, have been married for 30 years.
“We’ve overcome a lot of adversity in the past few years,” she noted.
She had a cancer diagnosis. In November 2022, he had a significant back surgery and was set to return to the doctor on May 3, hoping to be released to return to work full time.
The April 9 accident altered that plan.
With her husband’s protective action, Angela said he took most of the impact from the crash.
The Janeceks were pinned in the vehicle and Angela said the Jaws of Life tool was used to free them. Tom was flown by medical helicopter to Nebraska Medicine Hospital in Omaha. She was taken by ambulance to Missouri Valley Hospital and later flown to Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha.
Their daughters — Jessica Deselms of Ottawa, Kansas; Sarah Deselms of Omaha; and Amanda Janecek of Falls City — were running between the two hospitals and their parents’ home.
Angela had 11 rib fractures.
“I’ve had a lot of injuries in my life. That by far was the worst,” she said.
In addition, she had a fractured hip, fractured left hand and some facial fractures.
Tom had a brain bleed and some damage to his left eye. Both of his feet were broken. His left ankle was dislocated and right ankle broken. He had compound fractures in the tibia and fibula of his right leg. His right wrist and left shoulder were broken. He had cuts under his chin.
The Janeceks were in intensive care. He has no memory of what happened shortly before the accident or his first week in the hospital.
When he awoke, Tom said he had no idea what had happened or what was going on. It wasn’t until the Friday or Saturday after the accident that Tom realized why he was in the hospital.
“Then I was wondering where my wife was and how she was,” he said.
It was scary.
“If I’m this busted up,” he thought, “how is she doing?’”
The couple’s daughter, Sarah, told Tom that Angela was OK. She’d been transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Omaha.
Tom later was transferred there and they saw each other for the first time — three weeks after the accident.
“We looked at each other and thought, ‘Boy, we’re broken up,’” he said.
Yet there was gratitude.
“I was so grateful to see him, because I had no idea what to expect,” she said.
It was a poignant moment.
“We gave each other a big — but tender — hug,” he said.
Tom wasn’t able to get out of bed, but Angela could scoot around in a wheelchair. They’d eat dinner together at night.
Angela was at Madonna for about three weeks. Tom was there for about four weeks before being released to Life Care Center of Elkhorn for another two-and-a-half weeks of rehabilitation.
“When I could start putting weight on my one foot, they released me to where I could come home,” he said.
He was released June 16, the Friday before Father’s Day.
“I was bound and determined I was going to be home by Father’s Day — if I had to escape to do it,” he said with humor.
The Janeceks appreciate the support they’ve received family, friends, the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office and the community.
“It’s renewed our faith in humanity,” she said. “It’s been very humbling.”
Angela plans to return to work Aug. 1.
“Physically, I’m doing pretty darn good,” she said.
Emotionally, Angela said she was scared to get behind the wheel of a vehicle for the first time after the accident.
Tom hasn’t driven yet. He can transfer himself from a wheelchair to other chairs. On Wednesday, he could put weight on both of his feet and was expecting a physical therapist to work with him as he used a walker. He hopes to be done using a wheelchair next week.
He plans to return to work at the sheriff’s office on light duty on Sept. 1.
“My goal is to be back in my cruiser the first of the year,” he said.
During their journey of healing, they’ve talked about releasing their anger.
Harrison Court records in Iowa indicate the man who hit them, Steven Geerdes, 62, of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was charged May 15 with two counts of serious injury by a vehicle, a Class D felony. Citing an April 9 report, Sgt. Alex Dinkla, public information officer for the Iowa State Patrol, said impairment is being suspected and toxicology results are pending.
“We have to let go of the anger, because it doesn’t serve any purpose and it jades you I think,” Angela said. “We’re angry at what he did, but him as a person — we can’t hate him. Hate is a bad thing and it’ll tear you up, so we talk about it and then just kind of let it go.”
Tom doesn’t hate either, but notes the situation has been tough.
The Janeceks try to keep a sense of humor.
“Flying in a helicopter was always on my bucket list,” she said, recalling the quick trip to the hospital.
Tom is missing part of the middle finger of his left hand.
“Now, if all else fails, I have a secondary career. I could be a shop teacher,” he jokes.
The Janeceks reflect on their faith.
“God works in mysterious ways and I’ve come to realize that over the past few years….,” Tom said. “And how we’re able to be here right now is a miracle.”
Angela shows a tattoo on her left arm, perhaps a written reminder of the couple’s resilience and determination.
The tattoo reads: “Our story isn’t over.”