John J. VIDA

17 JAN 1955 - 30 JAN 2014

• RESIDENCE: 2014, North Liberty, IN
• BIRTH: 17 JAN 1955, South Bend, IN
• BURIAL: Highland Cemetery, South Bend, IN
• DEATH: 30 JAN 2014, LaPorte Hospital, LaPorte, IN

INDEX

[N8664] John J. Vida
Jan. 17, 1955 - Jan. 30, 2014
NORTH LIBERTY - John J. Vida, 59, of North Liberty, IN passed away Thursday morning January 30, 2014 in the emergency room at LaPorte Hospital, LaPorte, IN. He was born on January 17, 1955 in South Bend, IN to the late John and Virginia (Pierce) Vida. John is survived by his sister, Connie L. Martin; niece, Angela Martin; nephew, Steve Martin; and great nephews, Landon & Brandon Campion and Donavan John Martin, all of North Liberty, IN. He is also survived by two dogs that he loved dearly and many aunts, uncles and friends. John lived all of his life in Greene Township and graduated from North Liberty High School. He was a truck driver for Brink's Security for the past thirteen years. Previously he worked as a bus driver for the South Bend Community School Corporation for many years. John loved old cars, and enjoyed farming with his father while growing up. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at the Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel, 3718 S. Michigan St. South Bend, IN. Rev. Tim Stewart will officiate. Graveside services and burial will follow at Highland Cemetery, South Bend. Friends may visit from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Monday in the funeral home and one hour prior to the services on Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of John J. Vida may be offered to the Humane Society, 2506 Grape Road, Mishawaka, IN 46545. Online condolences may be sent to www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.
Published in South Bend Tribune on Feb. 1, 2014

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LAPORTE It took firefighters about 10 minutes of striking the bullet-proof glass on an armored Brinks truck with an ax Thursday to reach a driver who had gone into cardiac arrest. John Vida, 59, of North Liberty, died behind the wheel of the truck, police said. When firefighters were finally able to get into the locked cab, Vida was unresponsive and efforts to revive him failed. "I believe this gentleman was dead the minute he lost control of the vehicle," LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said, Emergency responders were called about 11 a.m. to an ATM at Horizon Bank at Pine Lake Avenue and Polk Street. Police said an officer found Vida slumped over the steering wheel of a Brink's truck, which arrived to refill the ATM. The driver's foot had slipped off the brake pedal and the armored vehicle rolled across Polk Street, hitting the side of a Ford Taurus parked outside Anderson's Automotive. "It was just creeping across," said Jim Anderson, owner of the mechanic shop. Both doors to the cab were locked and a second employee riding in the back of the truck did not have keys to the cab, which is standard procedure to help safeguard against any robbery attempt. "They don't have access to each other," said Sullivan. Firefighters could see Vida slumped in the truck, so they resorted to attempting to break the window. Finally, Sullivan said, a hole was created large enough to insert the jaws of life, a machine powered by an engine that even strained to spread apart the several-inch thick glass. "We didn't know if we were going to get it," said Sullivan, who's also a LaPorte firefighter. LaPorte Fire Chief Andy Snyder said at least his crew now knows how to break into an armored car if such a rare occurrence ever happens again. "They definitely had to put some effort behind it to get into it," Snyder said.