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Deadly Fall Update

Now for an update to a story we first brought to you in early October. About 2 months have passed since a Johnstown man died after falling nearly 9 feet into a Creek beside his home. We spoke with his wife on Tuesday to see how she’s getting through the grief.

Video shows the Creek where 85-year-old Howard Moench fell and then later passed away back in October. Now, his family is doing everything they can to help keep his memory alive. Howard’s wife Carrie Moench, known as C.J., saying: “the only thing I hold onto is I know one day, I’ll see my husband again.”

January would have been 39 years of marriage for Howard and C.J. Moench of Johnstown, but instead of celebrating that Anniversary, C.J. layed a wreath to honor her late husband. C.J. saying: “I say to god, just in case Howard is in your presence, tell him that I love him and that I miss him.”

It was the evening of October 5th when Howard fell through this orange netting and landed in Cherry Creek. He passed away the next morning, leaving C.J. without the chance to say goodbye to the love of her life. C.J. saying: “Life is very fragile. You don’t realize it. I think we all kind of take advantage, and we get comfortable. Then when a tragedy happens unexpectedly, or any kind of death, you can’t go back. So, I think people need to appreciate their family and their friends and to tell them that they love them.”

C.J. says this metal fencing was put up by Johnstown Officials just hours after Howard died, after she fought with the City for years about the dire need for a stronger blockade here. A Lawsuit has now been filed in this case.

In addition to the anger she feels, she’s now getting used to living day by day without Howard by her side. C.J. saying: “The comfort of having another person in the house, and to know that there’s somebody that you can love and you can do things for. The simple thing of fixing a meal for somebody. I don’t fix meals.”

C.J. is relying on her Trauma Therapist, belief in God, and family support to get through the grief. She’s also passing along these words of advice to everyone out there listening: “The only thing I can say is, if you love somebody, tell them you love them, that you appreciate them. Because in the next breath, they could be gone.”

We reached out to City of Johnstown Mayor Frank Janakovic and Manager Ethan Imhoff, but they both said that they have no comment at this time, pending the Litigation.

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