For most of us, it begins and ends with a headline. But for family, this is only the beginning of a long nightmare.
Last year in the United States, there were over ten million reported traffic accidents resulting in 2,699,000 injuries and 43,510 deaths, making it easy to tune out headlines like:
“Crash Injures Newburg Woman”
“Berthoud man dies in I-25 crash”
“5 teens injured in Story County accident”
When we do take note, we’re usually thinking “Gee, lucky this wasn’t me or my husband, wife, brother, sister, father, mother, son, daughter, friend. Until, of course, it does happen to us. And then we aren’t so lucky anymore.
Our friends Lyle and Tami joined the legions of anguished family Wednesday when Lyle’s daughter, Kaitlin and four of her cross country teammates collided with another car. We can feel their agony as they wait. It doesn’t seem fair and we feel helpless. Wishing them well seems like such a pathetic gesture but it is the only thing we can come up with.
From this day forward, I vow to pay attention to the personal tragedies around me. I promise to take a moment with each terrible headline to consider the human suffering which begins with a simple trip in a car.
