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Manheim Husband Dies, Wife In Coma Following Crash The Day After Her Brother Died

Jessica Hiestand-Schwanger is a two-time cancer survivor, who is now in a coma after a deadly motorcycle— which killed her husband— the day after her brother died. 

Christopher "Chris" Coolidge (left) and Jessica Hiestand-Schwanger (right).

Christopher "Chris" Coolidge (left) and Jessica Hiestand-Schwanger (right).

Photo Credit: GoFundMe/Holly Price (left); Facebook/Jessica Hiestand-Schwanger (right)

Jessica, 43, and her husband 44-year-old Christopher "Chris" Coolidge of Manheim were found in a driveway in the 700 block of Woodcrest Avenue in Stevens, PA on Saturday, May 27, 2023, according to Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department.

The couple was traveling westbound on the avenue when they left the road for an unknown reason and drove through "mulch, shrubbery, and landscape rocks" crashing into a mailbox on the 700 block of Woodcrest Avenue, side-swiping a PPL utility pole, and coming to a stop in a nearby driveway around 7:04 p.m., the police said. 

Chris, who was driving the Harley Davidson, "was not believed to be wearing a helmet at the time of the accident," police said in an updated release on May 28, 2023. 

He was found unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead by the Lancaster County Coroner. 

Jessica was taken to an area hospital in critical condition where she remains in a coma, according to police and family friends. 

She has previously overcome Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, a rare form of lung cancer— twice, and had a double lung transplant, she explained in a GoFundMe campaign she ran in 2019 and in a profile on her by Penn Medicine.

Her brother Micaiah "Mic" James Hiestand, 32, of Lancaster, passed away on May 26, 2023, in Lebanon, PA, according to the family. 

"Mic was a loving, caring, down-to-earth guy. He loved cracking jokes and was well-known for his silly one-liners. His quick wit and dry sense of humor kept his friends and family laughing," as stated in his obituary. He attended Palmyra High School and Lebanon Vo-Tech, he went on to work as a machine operator, and in his free time, "he enjoyed fishing, hiking, bird watching, and spending time with his family, especially his twin sister, Ariel," his family explained in his obituary.

He is survived "by his parents, Les and Barb Henry; his sister, Jessica Schwanger; his sister Renee Weaver, wife of Dwight; his brother, Jonathan Hiestand, husband of Hanna; his brother, Daniel Hiestand, partner of Alyssa; and his sister, Ariel Hiestand," as written in his obituary.

Contributions in memory of Mic can be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Jessica's husband Chris is remembered as a family guy who liked to spend time with his wife and kids and ride his motorcycle, according to social media. He attended Manheim Central High School, according to his Facebook profile. 

The couple's friends and family have been sharing about their two sudden losses and prayer requests for Jessica on social media. 

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Chris's daughter Alyssa Miller. You can donate to that campaign here

Any witnesses to the deadly crash have been asked to contact the NLCRPD at 717-733-0965.

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