Aching for closure

One year after a crash took the lives of Jessica Elder, 17, and Leo Brodsky, 28, their families revisit the scene and their own tearful memories to find closure

By Tyler Graf

The South County Spotlight, Jul 28, 2010, Updated Jul 28, 2010

Tyler Graf / The South County Spotlight

ONE YEAR LATER – Robert Elder (back) and Olga Brodsky (front) mourn the loss of their children, Jessica Elder and Leonard “Leo” Brodsky, on the one-year anniversary of their deaths on Northwest Union Road in North Plains. Jessica Elder and Leo Brodsky died from a motorcycle accident on July 23, 2009.

When Robert Elder wakes up at night, he doesn’t know if he’s actually awake, or if he’s still dreaming.

A year after a traffic accident took the lives of his 17-year-old daughter Jessica Elder and Leonard “Leo” Brodsky, his other daughter Ashlee’s 28-year-old fiancé, he still can’t fathom the events that led to their deaths.

“We want closure for all of this,” he said.

The events of July 23, 2009 are still vivid for the Elder and Brodsky families.

On that day, at 3:36 p.m., Jessica was a passenger on Leo’s motorcycle, traveling along a straight stretch of Northwest Union Road in North Plains, when it slammed into the side of a pickup truck turning into a parking lot. Jessica and Leo were thrown from the motorcycle, killing them instantly.

According to the preliminary police report, the motorcycle was speeding.

Court ruling reverses blame

But on the one-year anniversary of the accident, some form of closure may finally come for the families. A Washington County Circuit Court ruling earlier this month said Leo was not at fault for the accident.

“He was never known to drive fast,” Robert said. “The fact the police thought that always concerned me.”

There were no skid marks at the scene to indicate Leo was speeding and hit his brakes, according to the ruling. The first North Plains officer on the scene based his report more on aural clues — the high-revving of the motorcycle’s engine during downshifting — than visual evidence, Robert and Elizabeth Elder, Jessica’s mother, said.

For Leo’s mother, Olga Brodsky, the ruling vindicates her son in the eyes of the public.

“I knew he wasn’t speeding,” she said, choking back tears. “He was my best friend.”

Hard to let go

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