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Does five equal five? Really? It sure doesn't always seem to.
On the front page on June 21 ("Not first felony crash for suspect"), the Star Tribune described the failed government efforts and policies that should have protected society from a man with a long history of violating traffic laws, driving impaired and without a license, and who previously did time in prison in California for severely injuring a woman in a hit-and-run accident. One would think he never would be licensed again.
But after moving to Minnesota he again was given a new license, and he allegedly did it again. He's been charged with speeding through a red light, killing five women, and running away again from the scene before being captured by police.
Now compare all that with the article just below this one on the June 21 front page: "Time fading for sub lost near Titanic." When we're speaking of the simple governmental effort that would have been needed to prevent the deaths of five beautiful young women, killed while simply driving through a Minneapolis intersection, I can't begin to understand the colossal human effort and huge expense, complete with assistance from top scientists, in the unsuccessful effort to save five sightseers missing on a deep-sea adventure.
Don't misunderstand. I was hoping that those five could be saved.
But again, does not one life equal the next? Perhaps it was just the newspaper's decision to place these two articles next to each other, but speaking as a longtime retired police officer in this fair city, I would have been even more thrilled by the rescue of those five young women, with worldwide attention and thanks given to a law enforcement officer who stopped one crazy driver.
