Funeral Friday for Chesterfield Teacher Killed in Car Crash

A 50-year-old woman injured in a head-on car crash Aug. 26 along Wild Horse Creek Road as she returned home with her 16-year-old son, has died.

Janet Esrock died Sunday night. The Whitfield School teacher taught math and coached the girls field hockey team.

Her son, Jonathan Esrock, was also injured in the crash with multiple broken bones, but was released from the hospital Thursday.

Janet Esrock was being treated at Mercy Hospital and had not regained consciousness since the crash.

She has two college-age children who also attended Whitfield School, Joe Esrock and Becky Esrock.

Funeral services are Friday, 10:30 a.m. at Temple Emanuel, 12166 Conway Rd. Whitfield School canceled classes for Friday.

An entry from the family on CaringBridge said they gathered around her at the hospital Saturday night to talk to her, laughed, cried, hugged "and kissed her tenderly."

The investigation into the car crash has been handed off to St. Louis County prosecutors. Chesterfield police said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

An earlier on-air report by KSDK-TV said the driver of the other car was a 53-year-old in a Chevy Tahoe. Esrocks were in a 1992 Infinity.

Police said that driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault after being treated and released from a hospital, according to a statement Monday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Esrock family members said the head-on crash ocurred when the Esrocks came around a curve in their car and encountered another vehicle coming the wrong way in their lane.

The crash was on Wild Horse Creek Road near the Riverdale Drive intersection, about 10:40 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26. The mother and son were nearing home as they returned from a friend's football game, the family said.

Creve Coeur Patch Editor Gregg Palermo contributed to this article.