R.I.P. Sam

This is our neighbor's beautiful daughter Michelle and her son, Sam, 14 years old.  Sam was killed Sunday afternoon in a head-on collision on the undivided two-lane highway a few miles north of here, on his way down from his home in Austin with family friends.  A car in the oncoming lane suddenly crossed the line for unknown reasons; the wreck was instantaneous.

Also killed was the driver of Sam's car, the mother of his two young traveling companions.  She was 45 years old.  In the other car were a 43-year-old man, his girlfriend, his young son and daughter, and a friend of the daughter's.  All survived, but only the 11-year-old boy came through without terrible injuries.  The boy pulled his 9-year-old sister to safety, put compresses on her wounds, and flagged down help on the highway, then went back to pull his sister's friend to safety. He must have realized his father and the girlfriend were too large and too badly injured for him to try to help.  Luckily there was no fire.

I find that I can't stop thinking about the 11-year-old boy's little dog, who was in the car with him.  One of the firemen at the scene said she saw someone take the dog away wrapped in a towel.  She wasn't sure if it had lived.  She tried all the vets in town, but none had seen the dog come in.  Because the wreck was about half-way to the nearest small community to the north, it's just possible it was taken somewhere else.  In the comments section of the online newspaper for a nearby city, the boy's grandmother is asking about the dog for her grandson's sake.  I've told her everything I've been able to find out.  I'd like the little boy to know at least that someone tried to take care of his dog.  Maybe against all odds they'll be reunited; at least he'll know that the dog wasn't simply overlooked and that someone tried very hard to help.  The boy's father was in surgery all night long.  His grandmother reports that his sister's lungs are "not responding well."  Some good news would be welcome.

It's easier to worry about the dog, I guess, than to imagine the grief and horror of my neighbors and their daughter.  Sam was her only child and my neighbors' only grandchild.  He often visited next-door.  He was a fine young man with a family who adored him.  He had recently returned from the trip of a lifetime with his father, deep-sea diving near Bali.

Here's one of the last pictures of him, showing what a beautiful young man he was turning into.