A tragedy of immense proportions

I can only imagine the pain that the family of Kylie Pinheiro (pictured) is going through today as they bury the 18-year-old college student who was killed in a car accident last week. I can only imagine because I do not have any kids, though I have numerous nieces and nephews — including three of driving age — and I can’t fathom how my siblings and their spouses or my wife’s siblings and their spouses might deal with a tragedy of this magnitude.

I am not a big user of the word tragedy, as a general rule. I tend to limit its use to the Aristotlian use, tied to Greek drama and the notion that the hero meets his end through his own imperfections.

But the horrific nature of what has happened here, the unnecessary loss of life, the too-soon ending that could have been prevented.

The driver of the car that struck the one in which Kylie was traveling — Kimberly Green, 32, of Somerset — has been charged with aggravated manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault. Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch says Ms. Green tested at a .159 blood-alcohol level — nearly twice the legal limit. She faces up to 30 years on the manslaughter charge and up to 10 years each on the assault changes, if convicted.

Ms. Green, according to The Home News-Tribune, is a single mother of two, making this all the more tragic. She has pleaded not guilty.

The thing that strikes me about this is that it did not have to happen. The lives that been shattered by this — Kylie’s, her family and friends’, Ms. Green and her children’s, did not need to be shattered. Accidents like this never need to happen. We all should know better, as we say in our editorial this week.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

2 thoughts on “A tragedy of immense proportions”

  1. my heart and soul go out to kylie\’s family, but my conviction\’s are with kimberly green, i really have no remorse or feeling for the fact that she has a family, after the decision she made to drive after drinking alcohol, and killing kylie and injuring her two cousin\’s, well she should rot in jail. and she does\’nt deserve to have a family, as she shattered two families in the process. i have not one regard for that woman. it is times like this that i wish the death penalty were in force, because she deserves to be dead. there is nothing that can be done to bring back kylie, but there is something that can be done to be sure that it does\’nt happen again. may god have mercy on her soul. and i hope she does the MAXIMUM amount of time if not more for her actions. gmk

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  2. My name is Rhona Ridley of Piscataway n.j.I know what this family is going throught at this time for on Nov 10th my family lost Justin Travis Ridley on 287 exit 5 while he was removing a deer that he hit another car hit my grandson along with another man who was helping him both got killed instantly I have a lump in my chest and the tears are always in my eyes I would like to let them i feel their pain i dont know if it will ever go away .The circumstaces are so similar Justin had finishe his semester at Drexel University in Philadelphia was 19 and coming home for the week end when his life was cut short we need to be strong look who is talking I function in slow motion these days take courage in John5:28 and29 what else is there I would like to hear from Kylie\’s Mom my phone is 908-581-2134

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