There has been no respite from tragedy on Delco highways.
It's hard to imageine the tragedy that is now enveloping two families after a crash Friday night in Springfield. In effect, two lives have been destroyed.
A Springfield man now faces charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. He lost his longtime friend, who was a passenger in the car, in the crash, which occurred on State Road just after 9:30 Friday night.
You can read all the details here.
There is no good way to present this kind of story. It is heart-wrenching for all involved. One man's life was snuffed out; another (a close friend) has been forever altered.
I am always stunned at the visceral reaction that even the smallest story about a fatal crash sparks. They are routinely the most-viewed story on our website. They also produce no small amount of emotional comment, not all of it offered in the nicest way, and some of it directed at this newspaper.
That goes along with the job. I will tell you, however, that I received several emails and phone calls wondering if we were going to follow up on the original story on the crash that appeared in the Sunday paper. Obviously, we did just that.
We didn't do it to inflict any more pain on two families suffering incredible losses. But that is what we do, it's part of the public record.
It just seems especially tough at this time of year.
Yesterday the process repeated itself with a fatal crash that followed a routine police stop. A police officer in Folcroft attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation. Instead, the driver sped away at a high rate of speed. He didn't get far.
Police say the car collided head-on with another car in front of Glenolden Fire Co. on Chester Pike. The driver of the car that fled the police stop was killed. The other driver is hospitalized.
The story produced a visceral reaction from the very first time alert I posted on our Facebook page.
I'm not sure what that says about us, or the business I'm engaged in. I assure you it doesn't get any easier the longer you do it. I know I will receive phone calls today to complain about the way we covered these two stories.
I will listen patiently, knowing the kind of distress these families are enduring.
That's also part of the job.
Comments
Hopefully, as we are approaching the biggest drinking night of the year this story makes people rethink drinking and driving. With any luck it will save some lives. The families involved should understand this.