Sad.

In October, a Bloomington police deputy was killed in a traffic accident.  She was directing traffic on a very busy road, when a 16 year old girl accidentally hit and killed her.  She was young - in her twenties - and a newlywed, married for only a few months.  It was - and still is - a terrible tragedy.  The teenager who hit the deputy wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, nor was she speeding.  It was a terrible, terrible accident.

That girl - I'll call her A - goes to the high school I work at, and her younger sister - I'll call her B - is on my caseload.  I have seen the effect this accident had on B.  Ever since then, she has understandably had several issues.  Her grades have gone down tremendously.  She has problems sleeping, going sometimes for days without rest and then sleeping for a day straight.  She is only a freshman in high school.

I saw her this morning for an end-of-semester chit chat.  She told me that her family is moving away from Bloomington in a few weeks.  Apparently, ever since the accident in October, her family, especially her sister A, has been harrassed quite a bit.  There are abundant comments on the Herald Times website (our local paper) saying things like, A should be executed!  Her parents should be referred to Child Protective Services!  And on, and on, and on.

I am really heartbroken.  I would not wish this situation on anyone.  It seems as though the community is so quick to judge, and so harsh in their judgement.  In reality, a tragedy so accidental could happen to any of us, any day of the week, when we leave the house.   A is only sixteen, and she has to live for the rest of her life knowing that she took a life - albeit accidental.  Isn't that punishment enough?  

Now, this family has been forced away from their home.  They are even moving out of state, just for the hope that they will be able to start fresh.

I wish her and her family all the best.  As I said, I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone - this is the rare time in which nobody wins.