EMT Who Died In Wreck Opposed Pennsylvania State`s Helmet Law
Even had the 40-year-old Mount Wolf woman known she would die Saturday in a three-vehicle crash in Manchester Township, she wouldn't have changed how she lived her life, according to those close to her.
"I guarantee you, Connie wouldn't have had it any other way. She loved riding free. But I really don't think (a helmet) would've mattered in this case," said her sister-in-law, Carol Yost of East Berlin. "She lived a full and happy life, and most of her life involved motorcycling."
Connie Yost died at the scene of Saturday's 6:56 p.m. crash on the Susquehanna Trail just south of Lightner Road, Deputy Coroner Mary Breighner said. The cause of death was traumatic head injuries, she said.
Northern York County Regional Police Lt. Mark Bentzel said the crash happened when a Saturn sedan driven by Martha J. Roe, 40, turned left into her driveway, and into Yost's path.
As Roe's car entered her driveway, the sidecar of Yost's bike hit the rear passenger-side bumper of the Saturn, Bentzel said, causing the motorcycle to run into a Ford Contour driven by Monica Snyder, 23, of Spring Grove, who was treated at York Hospital. Roe and a 15-year-old passenger in her car escaped injury, police said.
Ambulance volunteer: When she wasn't riding her Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, Yost was either helping out at the East Berlin farm owned by her brother, Stanley Yost II, and his wife, Carol, or responding to emergency calls as a volunteer with Manchester Ambulance.
A certified emergency-medical technician, Yost served with the ambulance club for more than 12 years, handling in excess of 1,900 calls.
"But that doesn't count the hours and hours she was on call -- I can't even tell you how many hours that was," said Gary Cardasso, president of Manchester Ambulance. "She was running (on the ambulance) two nights a week and covering weekends as well."
A past ambulance lieutenant, Yost also volunteered in the club's various community-service projects. "It's definitely a big loss to the club and to the community," Cardasso said. "She was very dedicated."
In her years as an EMT, Yost -- a 1981 Northeastern High School graduate -- saw plenty of traffic crashes. "She knew all the dangers of riding without a helmet," said Dana Shirey of Wrightsville, who became friends with Yost through the York County Harley-Davidson Owners Association.
"It's a freedom kind of thing. If you're a rider, you understand that," Shirey said. "Connie was as active as she could be for the helmet-law repeal. She had a strong opinion we should have the right to choose."
Sherry Claytor, director of the south-central division of the March of Dimes, was friends with Yost for 15 years and said she always tried to downplay her contributions to the organization, which is dedicated to improving babies' health by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.
For years, Yost raised money for the March of Dimes, Claytor said.
Poster child: In 2001, Yost helped start the local organization's Ride for Babies, which raised more than $18,000 that first year. "All told, we've raised a little over $40,000," Claytor said.
Yost also sold rubber ducks for the March of Dimes' Rubber Duck Regatta -- especially in 2001 and 2003, when the ducks were decked out as bikers.
"She raised over a thousand dollars just selling ducks," Claytor said. "Connie gave back to York County tenfold, whether it was working with the ambulance company or with the March of Dimes. She didn't do it for glory or a pat on the back ... she never wanted to be recognized or thanked."
Lorraine Yost of Mount Wolf said her daughter wanted to repay the organization. "Connie was a March of Dimes poster girl when she was 3 years old," she said. Yost had a lifelong adrenaline deficiency, her mother said, but didn't let the condition hold her back.
Yost's desire to help children extended to other charity efforts, too. On Nov. 1, she led 450 other motorcyclists in the annual Toy Run parade, where members of the York County owners association deliver toys to Hershey Medical Center's Children's Hospital for sick kids.
Santa Claus sat in Yost's sidecar all the way to Hershey, Shirey said.
'Ball of fire': "She was always smiling, always laughing," Shirey said. "Everybody knew Connie -- everybody. We got calls from North Carolina and New York as news of her death spread."
Claytor described her friend as "a ball of fire" who was respected by fellow bikers for both her riding and mechanic skills. "She had as much passion, knowledge and love of the sport as any male biker in York County. No matter what she did, she did it with her whole heart," Claytor said.
Friends said the fact that Yost was able to do mechanical work on her own motorcycles gave her extra credibility. "Sometimes, if guys broke down on the road, they'd go to Connie," Shirey said, and many of them joked with Yost.
"She was too short to put her legs on the ground (while on the Electra Glide), which is why she had the sidecar," she said. "Of course, everybody teased her about her sidecar."
Carol Yost said if her sister-in-law had survived Saturday's crash, she likely would have suffered a broken neck. "And she wouldn't have wanted to live if she couldn't ride," she said.
She rode year round, even toughing it out in the winter, and good-naturedly chided bikers who didn't. "She would yell at you and call you a fair-weather rider," Claytor said.
Yost was able to share her lifelong love of riding with her brother, Stanley Yost II. The two would tinker with one of her five motorcycles or, more often, go on rides together.
"They said it made them feel free," Lorraine Yost said.
