Sad News
Posted on 2006-04-14
Is there ever a good way to learn someone you know has died??? Probably not. But hearing the sad news from a friend in person, by phone or via an email would have to be better than being left to read it for yourself in your local newspaper, surely???
Yet there I was, reading my local newspaper last night, when I came across an article about a driver who�s to be arrested as soon as he�s well enough to leave hospital after being involved in a road traffic accident on Saturday in which he was injured and one man had died.
As I read on, I discovered the man that died was a back-seat passenger who�d suffered a fatal head injury and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. I couldn�t believe it when I saw the man�s name. It was someone I knew. A friend. Someone I�d known for years.
I put the paper down in a panic and called a mutual friend, thinking there must be a mistake because surely, someone would�ve let me know before now if it were true.
But no, there was no mistake. And the reason nobody had told me beforehand???
�Well, you�ve been out of the loop for so long now, we didn�t think to let you know!�
Yes, that�s right. Because I�ve been unwell for so long and haven�t been able to meet up with these so-called friends as often, and because we haven�t been in contact as much as we once were, they simply �forgot� to tell me.
That annoyed me no end; of course I�d want to be told. Ok, I may not be able to go down the pub or do many of the things I could before I became ill, but that doesn�t mean I stop caring about people overnight.
I�m gutted. Firstly, and most importantly, because a wonderful man has been tragically killed in a senseless accident, and because of someone�s actions, a child will now grow up without a father.
Secondly, the driver refused to take a drink-drive test after the accident, which makes me believe he�d been drinking or has something else to hide. I just can�t think of another logical explanation for him refusing to take the test and help the police. I suppose the fact he�s under police guard at the hospital is something, at least. And he will have to live with what he�s done for the rest of his life. But although he�s injured now; in time, he�ll be able to live some sort of life, as will another passenger who was injured. Somehow, that doesn�t seem fair.
And finally, I�m disappointed in a few of my so-called friends. It seems that with some of them, it�s very much a case of �out of sight, out of mind�.
But at least I heard the tragic news early enough to be able to send a card to the family and although I might not be able to be there in person, I�ve been able to order some flowers to be sent to the funeral.
I just hope the roles are never reversed and that the people I thought were friends never have to read about the death of someone they care about in a local newspaper.