Hundreds turn out at KFC to support injured manager

YOUNGSTOWN — Normally at KFC, the choice is “original” or “extra crispy.”

On Sunday, the KFC on South Avenue offered other options — a one-hour wait in the drive-through lane or a one-hour wait inside.

But no one complained.

The customers — hundreds of them throughout the day — were willing to do whatever it took to show support Joe Kaluza. The 42-year-old store manager and father of two was paralyzed from the neck down last month when robbers staged a crash to steal the store’s bank deposit.

To raise money for the South Side man and his family, the local KFC franchisee donated all proceeds Sunday to a fund that’s been set up for his medical expenses.

Throughout the day, a line of customers snaked its way through the restaurant and sometimes spilled over to the sidewalk outside. Dozens of cars were lined up in the drive-through lane and down South Avenue.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Kaluza’s sister, Anna Fitzgerald of North Lima. “The people here really come together when something catastrophic happens.”

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.