Freak accident lands Willow woman in hospital

WILLOW - What began as a chivalrous gesture ended in sending a Willow woman to the hospital with serious injuries last week.

Jerry Henson, 41, of Willow, was issued a negligent driving citation after he allegedly drove a car from the passenger side of the vehicle, striking Denise Maloney as she stood in the doorway of the Townsite Video store in Willow. A witness said Henson was attempting to move the car away from a puddle for his female companion while sitting in the front passenger side of the car.

The 38-year-old Maloney had just finished her shift as a cashier at the video store around 5:30 p.m. last Friday, according to co-worker Brandon Monroe, who was relieving her for the night.

Monroe said Maloney was chatting with a woman whose 1984 Chevy Impala was parked in front of the store. A man was sitting in the passenger side of the front seat of the car. The car was parked in a deep puddle, Monroe said.

As the woman made her way to the car, Maloney continued to talk to the woman from the front door of the store. Monroe said the woman made a gesture to the passenger in the car, indicating she didnt want to step in the puddle, which was surrounding her car.

Monroe said he thought the man, who Alaska State Troopers later identified as Henson, was trying to shift the car from the park position in order to get the car out of the puddle.

All of a sudden I could hear the motor just rev up and then he slams her with the car and pins her against the door, Monroe said.

Injured and unable to walk, Maloney managed to keep her famous sense of humor, Monroe told the Frontiersman.

Shes laying there on the ground waiting for the ambulance, and she asks me to bring her cigarettes and soda, Monroe said.

Maloney then asked for someone to bring her the portable phone, so she could call her husband and three children.

Shes on the phone and I can hear her say to her husband, I dont think Im going to make it home for dinner tonight, I just got hit by a car, recalls Monroe, Then she told him, Well you know, these things can happen.

Maloneys husband, Ken Maloney, said he didnt know how badly injured his wife was when she called him after the incident.

Denise was pretty calm when she called and I didnt know how bad it was until I asked her if she wanted me to come down there. She said it might be a good idea if I followed the ambulance, and I knew then it had to be bad, said Ken Maloney.

Denise Maloney was brought to Providence Alaska Medical Center where she underwent surgery to repair a severely broken pelvis, her husband said. Doctors arent saying how long his wife will be hospitalized. However, Ken Maloney said he was told that her recovery could take as long as 12 months.

Employees at the Townsite Grocery Store and the Townsite Liquor Store on the Parks Highway are collecting donations for the Maloney family to help cover costs and expenses due to the accident. Donation cans have been set up at both businesses.Photo: A portion of the Townsite Video store is boarded up where a Willow man accidentally drove the car he was a passenger in through the door of the building, then striking and causing injuries to the stores clerk last Friday.

Photo by JO C. GOODE/Frontiersman.