Family recalls accident victim’s battle with leukemia
Family remembered the local victim of a deadly Route 119 traffic accident Wednesday as someone who beat leukemia and was recovering from the illness after being diagnosed two years ago. Darlene Saniga, 55, died at Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant at 2:55 p.m. Tuesday, the victim of multiple blunt force trauma from the accident in Bullskin Township Tuesday afternoon, according to Paul Cycak, the Westmoreland County chief deputy coroner.
During the last few years, Saniga battled leukemia with her head held high, while continuing to be selfless and giving, drawing strength from her faith, and serving as an inspiration to all she encountered, according to her obituary.
“She was beating it,” Saniga’s son, John, said Wednesday. “She was leukemia-free. She had some side-effects, but she was getting better.”
John said he never thought his mother’s life would end as the result of a car accident.
The two-vehicle accident occurred as vehicles driven by Saniga’s husband, George Saniga, 59, of Connellsville, and Joyce Carnes, 59, of Mount Pleasant, struck at the four-way intersection of Route 119 and Kingview Road near the George’s Trading Post at 1:50 p.m., according to state police.
State police in Uniontown said the intersection has been the site of traffic accidents before, despite a traffic light in place at the location. The police continue to investigate the incident.
At the time of the accident, Darlene and George Saniga and George’s mother, Margaret Saniga, were heading home from Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, where Darlene went for routine blood tests.
George Saniga was taken to Frick Hospital and Margaret Saniga was flown by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. Hospital officials said Margaret Saniga was in serious condition Wednesday night.
John Saniga said the two-year anniversary of his mother’s bone marrow transplant would have been in October of this year.
“She received a transplant and met a lot of people in Shadyside who had cancer,” John said. “She has been home for a long time, but she seen a lot of people who are still on the waiting list for transplants. She knows she got a chance at life with a transplant.”
He also said his father, Darlene Saniga’s husband of 37 years, stood by his mother through her illness.
“He’s done everything for her since she got sick,” John said. “If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have been here.
John said his mother sympathized with the victims of Hurricane Katrina since the natural disaster struck the Gulf Coast a little over a week ago.
“That’s all she talked about,” said John. “My mom and dad both donated. They wanted to help these people.
“She was a very goodhearted person,” he added. “She was the best. You could really not get any better than her. And I’m not saying that because she’s my mom.
“I never saw a flaw in my mom. She was perfect,” said John.
In addition to her son and husband, Saniga is survived by another son, Kevin, and a daughter, Heather.
In lieu of flowers, Saniga’s family suggests donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or the American Red Cross Fund for Hurricane Relief in memory of the woman.
Family and friends will be received Thursday in the Brooks Funeral Home in Connellsville and internment will follow in the Green Ridge Memorial Park in Pennsville.