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He survived Iraq, but not crash

Early edition

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published December 28, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG — Adam D. Ostfeld enlisted in the United States Army two years ago and quickly asked for the most dangerous job in Iraq.

The lanky 24-year-old with a defined chin and slightly crooked white teeth drove through open highways dodging roadside bombs and the occasional gunfire to deliver supplies between two military bases.

Her only child was fearless, said Jody Pritchard, surviving 14 months in Iraq without even so much as a bruised finger.

But on Thursday family an friends gathered to remember the St. Petersburg High graduate after he died in a car accident the Saturday before Christmas.

“No matter what you see in the media, people like specialist Ostfeld made a difference in the lives of the Iraqis,’’ said David Buehler, his company commander. He cried as he spoke. “Not everyone can say they made a difference in their lives.”

Home on vacation, Ostfeld was riding with his girlfriend when she drove her car into a tree along Interstate 75. The passenger side of the vehicle was crushed. Ostfeld died at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, the same hospital where he was born.

To family and friends, his death is almost unreal.

“I think he is probably looking down through the clouds and saying 'oh my god, a tree got me,’” said Ostfeld’s stepfather Tom Pritchard, executive chef at the Salt Rock Grill, Island Way Grill and Marlin Darlin restaurants.

Pritchard is well known for donating food to dozens of charitable events each year throughout Pinellas. Among the 150 mourners who gathered at the Anderson McQueen funeral home Thursday were Bucs Mike Alstott and Dave Moore, part owners of the Island Way Grill. Clearwater’s mayor and Largo’s police chief also were there.

The crash that killed Ostfeld happened shortly before 8 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-75 near Sarasota.

Sarah Parker, Ostfeld’s on-again and off-again girlfriend since high school, was driving a 1999 Toyota when she lost control of the car and swerved off the road. Parker, 22, tried to turn the car back onto the highway, but it spun around and struck a tree planted in the road median.

It took emergency officials 40 minutes to remove Ostfeld’s body from the mangled car. They couldn’t tell if he had been wearing a seat belt or not.

Both Parker and Ostfeld were airlifted to Bayfront. Parker, who was not wearing a seat belt, was released with minor injuries.

Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Herbert Head said he could smell alcohol in the car when he arrived at the crash, but the results of Parker’s blood alcohol content test will not be back for another six weeks. If the tests show she was driving while under the influence, she could be charged with DUI manslaughter, Head said.

Ostfeld’s family said they have no idea where he was going or coming from that morning. On Thursday Parker visited the funeral home, hugged Ostfeld’s parents and left after half an hour. She declined to comment.

During the service Ostfeld’s family and friends noted he had left for Iraq as a tenacious boy and came back as a mature man.

As a boy, Ostfeld was home schooled so he could spend most of his time practicing and competing in figure skating. He dreamed of going to the Olympics.

Instead, when he was 16 he decided he wanted a normal childhood and begged to go to school. He graduated from St. Petersburg High in 2002.

As an adult, Ostfeld was restless. He took a few classes at St. Petersburg College, worked as a waiter, and tried to start his own Web site company. Nothing ever stuck.

But when he joined the Army, mostly out of patriotism and slightly out of boredom, it was like he was home, his family said.

Still, Jody Pritchard could not help be but nervous for her six-foot tall son while he was in Iraq.

She grew sick whenever an unknown car pulled in front of her St. Petersburg home, and dreaded the thought that its occupant would be dressed in an Army green uniform.

“Those are the ones they send to say sorry for your loss,” her husband would later say.

In Iraq, Ostfeld moved supplies between two military bases at least four times a week, traveling along a stretch of highway loaded with at least 55 explosive devices, Buehler said.

After Ostfeld’s unit returned from Iraq they were stationed in Colorado, but he still talked of returning.

And he seemed set on a military career re-enlisting in November. He told anyone who would listen that he was going to fly helicopters for the Army.

Now, his Christmas gifts are still under the tree. His mother got him some socks, a few sweaters, and a thick coat so he would be warm in the Colorado winter.

Jody Pritchard can’t bring herself to touch them.

“Adam would say when he was in Iraq if anything ever happened to me my mother would die so nothing can ever happen to me,” she said. “He always said that.”

Funeral services will be held today at 2 p.m. at the Memorial Park Cemetery at 4900 54th Avenue North in St. Petersburg.

Cristina Silva can be reached at (727) 893-8846 of csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 20:33:35]