There is a way to make a morsel of good come out of one of the most horrific car accidents this area has seen in years.
Last November, Dat T. Ong, 17, and Chu "Allen" Xiong, 18, two international students attending Seton Catholic, were walking on Peasleeville Road in Peru in the late afternoon. They were hit and killed by a car driven by Brandon Sorrell-Rennert, 17, of Peru. The car careened out of control and crashed, killing both Sorrell-Rennert and his passenger, Samantha Donah, 17, of Plattsburgh.
It was a heart-breaking accident that left parents around the area hugging their own kids, empathetic to the sadness felt by four families a half world apart.
With all those involved in the accident lost, it took a State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit three months to figure out what had gone so terribly wrong.
The report, explained at a news conference last Friday, mentioned factors you would see in many accidents involving young, inexperienced drivers but concluded the main cause was that the two young men were walking in the road on an unlit, near-dark highway with their backs to traffic, wearing dark clothing. Another car had swerved to avoid hitting them earlier.
This was not the accident cause you see often when teens die; there were no alcohol or drugs involved — just some young people walking in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could happen to any of our children.
The lessons that must be learned from that car/pedestrian accident are vital. The Press-Republican often receives Speakout entries addressing the dangers of pedestrians walking along roads in clothing that makes it difficult for drivers to see them.
This one was emailed to Speakout just a few days ago: "I strongly feel that people walking outside after dark, regardless of what they are wearing, should wear a reflective vest. Three kids ran out in front of us tonight, and we barely had time to stop before we would hit them. They were all wearing dark clothes. We need to buckle up; it's the law. We need to wear a helmet; it's the law. We need to make this a law! I think you would see less people getting hit by cars."
At the news conference, State Police Capt. Brent Gillum pointed out that state law says pedestrians on a road without sidewalks must walk on the left, opposing traffic. And he urged people to wear brightly colored or reflective clothing and carry flashlights during low-light conditions. Pedestrians should never assume that a driver can see them, he said.
Nothing can erase the grief felt by those four families, but if schools, parents and others can educate more children about how to stay safe when walking along a road, those four tragic deaths can prevent more of the same.
