MASON — When Judy Seltzer's parents moved into Cedar Village retirement community about a year ago, her family left Forest Park, their home for 26 years, and moved here to be closer to them.

        On Friday, Mrs. Seltzer buried her 87-year-old mother, Sarah Josephson, who was sitting in the lobby of Cedar Village Wednesday when a van plowed through the glass doors, killing her.

        Just hours before the funeral at Weil Funeral Home in Symmes Township, the Mason woman remembered her mother as determined and devoted to her family.

        Last June, Mrs. Josephson broke her right hip, and doctors told her she'd never walk again. She never believed it.

        “My mother made herself walk again. She was bound and determined to walk to her grandson's bar mitzvah” in October, said Mrs. Seltzer. “She was a fighter — and that's why we thought she would make it through this, too.”

        Edward Traurig, 65, of Oak Park, Mich., is charged with vehicular homicide. If convicted, Mr. Traurig would face up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 and could have his license suspended for the first-degree misdemeanor.

        Mrs. Seltzer said relatives and their Cincinnati attorney, Frederic Goeddel, will attend Mr. Traurig's arraignment Tuesday in Mason Municipal Court.

        Sarah Rhodus, who works at Cedar Village, witnessed the crash. “Everybody is really upset. They feel bad for both (families),” she said.

        Mrs. Seltzer's 93-year-old father, Louis, was seriously injured but has steadily improved. Relatives picked him up from the hospital so he could attend his wife's funeral.

        The couple was married for 69 years, and had three children.

        “They were joined at the hip. They were the closest couple you ever wanted to see,” said Mrs. Seltzer, who works for the Jewish Community Center's Senior Adult Department in Roselawn.

        She said her parents were sitting in the lobby, waiting for a friend, when the crash occurred.

        Mr. Traurig lost control of his van at the circle drive near the lobby, police said, and the vehicle jumped a curb and continued through a grassy area. The van crashed through the plate-glass doors near the main entrance, striking the couple.

        “I saw this big red monster coming at me and I couldn't move. I was frozen,” she recalls her father telling her.

City fights for drug exclusion zone
Asbestos puts scare in workers
Eight 'graduates' joining city police
Priest from Uganda mourned
Tamer Mardi Gras in works
Antarctic visits recounted
Girl, 16, charged with vehicular homicide
'Souper Bowl' feeds hungry
Tristate A.M. Report
Villages unite to improve
Vine St. overseer begins city job
Whitewater land bought for parks
THOMPSON: Faith Matters
MCNUTT: Warren County
SAMPLES: Historical, spiritual nonfiction?
WELLS: The Cheney syndrome
Butler Co. sister has only hope
3-year-old DNA sample leads to arrest in rape
Family says goodbye to matriarch
Trials in Lebanon likely done
McConnell raises $3.5 million
Enron has Bunning backpedaling
Federal funds sought for sidewalks
Kentucky News Briefs
Ky. man charged in pair of rapes
Local 'stars' get air time in GED show
Lucas' challenger gets funds