She fell near an icy bus stop in the city. She likely froze to death before help came.
It's a story as tragic as it is shocking: A woman leaving work in Milwaukee slips on the ice at a bus stop and tries to call 911. But she loses consciousness on the sidewalk, and surveillance footage appears to show someone stepping over her body and continuing to walk as numerous cars pass.
Eventually, a passerby sees her and calls 911. Jolene Waldref is then found frozen to death, face down in a snowbank.
Paramedics say they tried to revive her but couldn't. The medical examiner is investigating the case as a probable hypothermia death.
Her friends are mourning her loss and expressing anger and disbelief that such a tragedy could have happened at a busy street corner.
Waldref, 49, was leaving her job as a receptionist at a home health care agency on Jan. 15 when she slipped and fell, hitting her head on a fence on a nearby property, according to records from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office.
Paramedics were dispatched at around 5:45 p.m. but could not revive her. At the time, temperatures at the nearby Timmerman Airport were 2 degrees below zero, with wind chills of minus-20 to minus-21, according to the National Weather Service.
Waldref leaves behind two daughters, ages 14 and 21. Her longtime partner, Kevin, died about six months ago, said former neighbor Jodi Pelczynski.
Pelczynski and Waldref lived across the street from each other for about 17 years until recently. She has fond memories of their children playing in Pelczynski's pool and roasting marshmallows in the summertime.
Waldref "adored her daughters," Pelczynski said, and was a generous and joyful friend.
"She'd give her shirt off her back if you needed it," Pelczynski said. "Always had a smile, always had a story. Always just loved life."
Cold weather can be deadly
Cold kills Americans each year. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, 159 people died due to winter weather according to the National Safety Council.
Extreme cold and storms earlier this month were especially dangerous, with dozens of deaths reported.
Waldref was the fourth person to die from exposure to the elements in Milwaukee this January.
Questions remain over the conditions of the sidewalk where Waldref slipped and fell on Milwaukee's northwest side, and how no one apparently called for help until it was too late.
The bus stop where she slipped was an unsheltered square of pavement next to the street corner.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Milwaukee County Transit System said it doesn'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. "Seniors and persons with disabilities who rely on transit need a clean pathway to access to the bus. Please do your part by helping to keep bus stops safe."
Who's responsible for clearing snow off sidewalks?
In most states, the property owners, or in some cases their tenants, are responsible for snow and ice removal on sidewalks. But the policies have been controversial and some cities are exploring other options to try to improve pedestrian safety.
America Walks, a nonprofit advocating safe, equitable and accessible places to walk, and the Pedestrian Dignity project have advocated for better policies to clear snow and ice from sidewalks and crosswalks to keep them safe for pedestrians and wheelchair users.
"We’ve got great plans out there to make sure every road is clear," said Mike McGinn, executive director of America Walks. "But we don't have plans to make sure that people who don't drive can be safe. It's a bias in our policies that's historic, long-standing and wrong."
College campuses often do a great job of making sure their pedestrian routes are clear, McGinn said. "But it's extremely common for cities to have no really effective plan for ensuring people outside of vehicles can be safe."
Last July, advocates convinced the Chicago City Council to approve a "plow the sidewalks" pilot program and a committee is scheduled to establish zones for the trial program by May.
Office closes to deal with death of beloved staffer
Waldref's supervisor at the home health care agency, Deborah Johnson, said she was friendly, outgoing and a hard worker. She had been a caregiver with Life Touches Home Healthcare for much of the last decade and had switched to receptionist work in the last year and a half.
Clients and caregivers alike loved Waldref, Johnson said, and would drop off Christmas gifts for her.
"She was exceptional in this position," Johnson said. "We should all just be pleasant the way she was."
Marybeth McGinnis, program manager at MilWALKee Walks at the Wisconsin Bike Federation, said Waldref's death indicates a bigger problem. Officials should take steps to address the issue of pedestrian injuries and deaths from slipping and falling.
The true scope of the issue is likely underreported, McGinnis said, as people who are hurt on ice are not likely to receive the same level of police investigation as a pedestrian or cyclist struck by a car.
Waldref's daughters are now planning a funeral for their mother (a GoFundMe raised about $9,000 as of Wednesday).
Pelczynski is left with her last memory of Waldref. Over Labor Day weekend, Waldref and her younger daughter spent an entire day at Pelczynski's house, grilling, chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather.
"That day I will carry with me for the rest of my life," she said.