Community Corner
Brookfield Central Coach Safe After Explosions at Boston Marathon
A dozen Brookfield residents were signed up to run the famous race, which was rocked by at least two explosions about three hours after the winners crossed the finish line.
Brookfield Central High School’s cross country coach and math teacher Ronn Blaha is safe after completing the Boston Marathon, despite explosions that have killed at least two people at the finish line.
Ronn and Deb Blaha ran the race in three hours, 53 minutes and 43 seconds. It was soon after they completed that the explosions started.
"My wife and I had finished about 10 to 15 minutes before the bombs went off," Ronn Blaha said in a Facebook message to Patch. "We saw the first blast and I told my wife to start walking in the opposite direction. Shortly after the second blast race personnel moved down Boylston Street telling everyone to clear out. There were agonizing moments when we couldn't get word to our families that we were OK. Cell calls and texts weren't going through."
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
While information is limited at this moment, there were “lots of concerned people” in the Elmbrook School District, according to Superintendent Mark Hansen.
“Both the Blahas are fine,” Hansen said Monday afternoon. “We were in touch with Ronn and Deb Blaha.”
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon had people carrying bloody spectators into the medical tent set up for runners, according to an Associated Press report on the Pocono Record website.
"There are a lot of people down," the AP quoted one man saying. The explosions happened about three hours after the winners crossed the finish line.
The latest report indicate that at least two people are dead and more than a dozen are injured.
NBC News reported fire engines, police and emergency medical personnel were headed to the scene. An affiliate reporter told NBC News she heard two loud explosions, and that "everybody kind of ducked and hit the ground," and Jackie Bruno, reporter for New England Cable News said she saw people with significant injuries, including one person with a leg blown off.
"Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror," Bruno said.
Patch is following this breaking story
The Boston Athletic Association website lists the following Brookfield entrants:
- Corina Canitz, 46
- Karen Cook, 46
- Frank Deguire, 44
- Michael Guth, 43
- Sally Hartman, 49
- Marek Kotrly, 41
- Michael McGurk, 64
- Benjamin Osborn, 39
- Katie Peterson, 21
- Molly Peterson, 21
- Jeffrey Plate, 38
- Jennifer Schweinert, 46
- Peter Schweinert, 46
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
