A field of runners takes off from the start line outside the PSP Wilkes-Barre barracks on Saturday morning. Troop P held their second memorial run in honor of Trooper Kenton Iwaniec, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2008. This was the first year that the Wilkes-Barre barracks hosted the event at its own site; last year’s inaugural Troop P run took place in Sullivan County.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Memorial run honors fallen trooper, helps fight impaired driving
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Scott Township police officer Adam Fulkersin speaks with the media at Saturday’s run. Fulkersin stopped by to pick up a portable breathalyzer for the Scott Township department, one of 34 such breathalyzers given to NEPA police departments with funds raised from the Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Acacia Houck, one of the Iwaniec Foundation founders and the sister of Trooper Kenton Iwaniec, displays the breathalyzer kits that are being given to local police departments, part of the Foundation’s mission to help combat impaired driving.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Iwaniec
HANOVER TWP. — Monday will mark 15 years since Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kenton Iwaniec was killed by a drunk driver on the way home from his shift at the PSP Avondale barracks in Chester County.
In his honor and memory, Iwaniec’s parents and sister have spent countless hours and raised a significant amount of money to help bring impaired driving to a stop, organizing the Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation in 2009.
That effort made its way to Northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday, as the Troop P Wilkes-Barre station hosted a memorial run in Iwaniec’s honor.
“They [the Foundation] do so much for us, we’re very appreciative of what they do for us,” said Trooper William Evans. “Those portable breathalyzer tests they supply us with are a huge help.”
This year marked the second memorial run held by Troop P to honor Iwaniec’s life and legacy, but the first hosted at the troop’s barracks in Hanover Township; last year’s inaugural run, inspired by the larger-scale run held by the Foundation in Latrobe, was held in Eagles Mere, Sullivan County.
The Iwaniec family, Kenton’s parents Ken and Debra and his sister Acacia Houck, made the trip to Northeastern Pennsylvania to show support for the group of runners, and to also distribute Preliminary Breath Test devices (PBTs) to local police departments in need of them.
“The support our family has received from the Pennsylvania State Police has just been so heartwarming and special, they’ve just taken us in,” Houck said. “We realized how much that ‘brotherhood’ that my brother felt as a part of the state police, how true that really is.”
In the years since Iwaniec’s passing, the Iwaniec Foundation has raised over $1 million and has donated close to 2,500 PBTs to police departments around the state. On Saturday, the Iwaniec family was able to give out 34 PBTs to departments around Luzerne County and beyond, all over Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“We’ve seen, since Kenton’s death, there has been a drop of 42% in DUI deaths in Pennsylvania,” Houck said. “We’re really grateful for law enforcement and all their efforts to help remove those impaired drivers.”
Officer Adam Fulkersin, from the Scott Township Police Department in Columbia County, received a PBT for his department.
“It’s a huge, huge help,” he said. “We’re a small department, we don’t have the funds to get one of these for every officer … this will help us keep on top of drinking and driving.”
Saturday’s race generated even more money for the Iwaniec Memorial Foundation to continue their fight to assist local law enforcement with PBT device donations.
In addition to the sign-up fee, hats and shirts with Trooper Iwaniec’s name on them were available for purchase inside the barracks.
Runners were given a bright orange shirt with the word “Takeoff” emblazoned on the chest before they headed outside to the starting line in front of the building.
A different color shirt is picked each year, Houck said, and the bright orange color was mainly for increased visibility, while the “Takeoff” slogan originated from the Foundation’s first-ever race.
“The first race was held at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, that’s why we called it ‘Takeoff’,” Houck explained. “We’re taking impaired drivers off the roads, that’s the slogan.”
A field of about 40 runners braved the wind and the rain to participate in Saturday’s run, many of them affiliated with local law enforcement departments and looking forward to honoring a fellow officer.
“I think it’s wonderful what his [Iwaniec’s] family has done,” said Trooper Rob Betnar, of Troop P. “I’m honored to be a part of it.”
The race, run on a course that stretched around the barracks and behind the building, was 3.1 miles in length. Participants were greeted with lunch upon their arrival back at the barracks.
The Iwaniec Foundation’s main Takeoff run is set for April 22 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Trooper Iwaniec’s alma mater.
The foundation also holds a yearly sporting clay event in Fayette County, an event that stems from Iwaniec’s passion for hunting and the outdoors.
Along with these passions, Houck said that one of her brother’s biggest loves was his work in law enforcement, and that she and her family are so proud to be able to carry on Iwaniec’s legacy.
“My brother, he just lived to serve, he was so proud to be a trooper,” Houck said. “To be able to continue the work that he’s done means so much to us.
“I’m sure that he’s smiling down on us and proud that we’re able to continue to help prevent other families from dealing with this kind of loss.”
For more information about the Foundation and its work, visit https://trooperiwaniec.org/.
