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Tragic accident leads to irresponsible rumors, and blogging

Posted by Kevin Fischer on April 19, 2010

I believe we can all agree that last week’s accident that killed a young Greendale girl was a horrible tragedy.

Law enforcement is still trying to figure out what happened, but that hasn’t stopped the irresponsible rumor mill, and in one case, preposterous blogging.

The fatal accident took place last Wednesday.

Last Friday, I was in the Associated Bank in downtown Greendale, not far from the site of the accident and where a special fundraising effort has been established. I know all the tellers at the bank and when I got to make my transaction, I engaged in the customary chit-chat.

My teller said it was “a bad week,” referring to the little girl’s death.

She then said there was all kind of talk and rumor going around. Just as she mentioned that, we could hear customers in line behind me saying the woman involved was talking on her cell phone.

“You see,” the teller said to me. “That’s what I’m talking about.

I said that talk needs to stop. It’s not fair to anyone to deal in rumor. We need to wait until a factual investigation has been completed.

That was last Friday.

I was unaware that the day before,  Franklin blogger John Michlig had engaged in the same unfortunate rumor-mongering on his blog.

The woman who hit and killed the little girl is from Franklin. Michlig, a strong proponent of putting sidewalks everywhere in Franklin to accommodate less driving and more walking irresponsibly tried to connect the dots on his blog by making wild assumptions. In his blog, he labels the accident as an example of “suburban indifference,” as though reckless suburban drivers care less about children. He writes:

“The driver was an as-yet unnamed 59 year-old driver from my suburb of Franklin. She was questioned and released; alcohol was not suspected.

How does something like this happen on a village main street, well equipped with sidewalks? Was the driver talking on her cel phone? Somehow not looking RIGHT to turn RIGHT, missing the sight of two adults, two children, and two bikes crossing?

Sadly, the partial answer may be as banal as this: Years of suburban driving in speedway-street Franklin, an environment where pedestrians are rare, made this particular driver much, much less attuned to pedestrians than she should have been, even in a pedestrian-heavy environment like downtown Greendale.

The indifferent suburban driver, conditioned by years of banked turns and streets devoid of life, meets the walkable town center.”

Does anyone, including Michlig know if the driver was on a cell phone? The answer is no.

Does Michlig know something the Greendale Police Department doesn’t know? The answer is no.

Does Michlig even know how long this woman has even lived in Franklin, brainwashing her into this type of driving? Maybe she just moved in. But Michlig has her “conditioned” by years of motoring through Franklin streets.

Michlig supposes the reason this tragic accident took place is because the Franklin woman is so accustomed to driving in Franklin that she couldn’t possibly make adjustments driving in downtown Greendale. Bizarre!

The assumption, and that’s all this incredibly irresponsible blog amounts to, that Greendale’s sidewalks and pedestrians are a factor in the death of this innocent child is the most blatant example of foot in mouth disease I’ve ever seen.

Using Michlig’s flawed beyond compare logic, no motorist from Franklin should dare venture onto Wisconsin Avenue.

Do I think Michlig was intentionally insensitive? No, of course not.

Do I think he’s out of line? You betcha.

Here’s some advice for sidewalk proponent John Michlig. John, if you’re looking for support material, this tragic accident ain’t it.

Michlig doesn’t comment on my blog but he’s been oh-so fast to criticize me on his, over and over again. Hey, John, please write a blog defending your theories that have absolutely no facts to back them up.

People, until the authorities have figured out what really happened, and yes, the driver might, I say, might be totally at fault, I respectfully suggest keeping quiet for the sake of all involved. I am not defending the driver by any means, but the gossiping needs to stop.

Instead of spreading rumors, save that talk and useless energy and use it instead for prayers for the little girl and her family.