In the Blink of an Eye

For my readers (all two of you) that don't already know, I work for an automotive supplier that manufactures safety devices, e.g. seatbelts, airbags, and in some countries child seats. As part of my job, I occasionally participate in accident case reviews. On of our research partners is a very highly regarded children's hospital, and today I attended a child injury case review.

The last case we reviewed was a horrible collision in which a big Econoline van plowed into the side of a minivan, essentially focusing all the crash energy on the exact position where a seven-year-old girl was sitting. The side of the minivan caved in about 1.6 feet, completely crushing the girl. She died. The crash investigators said that when the emergency medical responders arrived on the scene, the girl's mother (who had relatively severe injuries of her own, like a dislocated spine) was in the back trying to make sure her daughter wasn't dead....

I'm sorry, I can't finish this right now, so I'll have to come back in a few minutes............

Okay. I'm back. Sorry about that. Anyway. It's so hard for me to think about something like that in a clinical manner. I just take things too personally, I guess. It does make me feel good, however, that I work for a company that is actively trying to prevent as many tragedies like this as we can. Maybe I am contributing something to the world at large. I have to think that I am, otherwise I'll lose it whenever I participate in a review of a fatal accident. If I can prevent one family from being ripped apart by a senseless tragedy, I'll feel like I've succeeded.


P.S. My prayers are with the people of London today, especially those that lost a loved one this morning, as they deal with a much larger senseless tragedy.