January 24, 2007 12:23 PM

Kevin Vaughan on The Crossing: Chapter 2

deanamo(Q) Thank you, I have been intrigued by the articles of "The Crossing". So heartbreaking, so real. Thanks for the great deal of investigation to complete such a great coverage.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope that people who take the journey through the 33 days will come away with a profound respect for all of the people touched by this and will think about all that it means to be a human being -- about love, loss, forgiveness.

Mark_Wolf(Q) What struck me about today's chapter was the role random chance - where you choose to sit on a school bus - plays in life - and death. That must have been terribly difficult for the victims' families.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I told people this a million times while I was working on this. Every day all of us make a million little decisions -- to run to the store, to go back into the house to grab something, to stop for a yellow light or go through it -- that add up to nothing. But sometimes, those million little actions add up to utter tragedy. The difference in the accident being a close call and the worst traffic accident in Colorado history is one of split seconds.

Mark_Wolf(Q) And how coincidental that the train's engineer and the school bus driver both started their assignments at roughly the same time.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I learned that fact very late in the process, when we unearthed some transcripts of the court hearing the day of the accident.

deanamo(Q) #2 Though I realize your continued article, "The Crosssing," will reveal the answser, we can't wait to learn the outcome of Mr Duane Harms, his wife and daughter.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I don't want to give away what is coming in the future, but I can say that you will learn where his life took him after this.

Mark_Wolf(Q) The details of the kids on the bus - what they were wearing, what they had in their pockets - is compelling. Were you surprised people had such vivid memories of such small details as having a Confederate $5 bill in a wallet that morning?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Yes and no. In one of the later chapters we deal with the kinds of things that stick in people's minds after a tragedy. Everybody talks about how they remember where they were and what they were doing when JFK was assassinated, or when the space shuttle crashed, so I understand that when something touches you so close it freezes many things in your mind.

mf(Q) Kevin - when are you doing to identify the children who died? It would make it easier to follow the chronology and events of the day.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) This is a question we struggled with in deciding how to organize the series. Ultimately, we decided it would be most powerful to let the events unfold in this section chronologically, to help make the point about the randomness of this. The children who died will be identified at the point that the accident occurs.

Mark_Wolf(Q) A commenter on the blog iteam pertaining to The Crossing says that, in the Greeley School District, a person is hired to get out of the bus at every rail crossing at grade, looks both ways, then returns to the bus.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) This practice was begun after the accident. A "monitor" would get out and walk across the tracks and wave the bus across if it was clear. However, it was eventually discontinued.

Mark_Wolf(Q) This question from a lengthy e-mail that I'll summarize: "You guys don't know how hurtful this is. My mom cried till midnight last night remembering how she found my sister that day. Dead by the side of the road. And only 9 years old. It was a neighbor who found my 6 year old brother - also dead. She is 83 yeas old and can still remember that day like it was his morning. All the families feel the same way. Leave it alone and let us be." What do you say to those folks?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I feel badly that telling this story is painful for these families, so many of whom opened their homes and their hearts to us and talked about the most devastating losses of their lives. I felt this was a story that needed to be told -- that these children should be remembered, that people should understand that all they have can be taken away in an instant. I hope that in the end the families who were so courageous in talking to us will feel that this project would be a small memorial to those who were lost.

deanamo(Q) #3 post: Seeing those pictures in today's "Rocky Mountain News" (6°) took you back in time and made it so real; as if this were a current news breaking story of today! Tears form, voices crack, when reading this article!
Kevin_Vaughan(A) We worked very hard to gather the photos of all the kids. We thought that the images would really help drive home that these were real children with families who loved them.

Mark_Wolf(Q) "The Crossing" occupies two pages of the print edition everyday but it has a substantial on-line presence. Tell us about that and how involved you were in that process.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) The presentation of the story on the Internet was a team effort, and I had a hand in it, but many of my colleagues did amazing work on the various aspects of it. The video documentaries add a rich layer to the presentation, and they are, I think, incredibly well done.

mf(Q) If I remember correctly, the bus driver was "charged' and went to trial...was the train crew "charged?"
Kevin_Vaughan(A) The train crew was not charged. Trains always have the right-of-way at crossings. It is the responsbility of motorists to watch for trains. Trains cannot stop quickly -- a mile or more is not uncommon -- and don't have the ability to react when someone pulls out in front of them.

mf(Q) I would have thought there might have been some negligence on part of the train crew doing 79mph
Kevin_Vaughan(A) According to court testimony, the train was within the prescribed speed limit for that section of track.

alek(Q) When I turned the page and saw you article, I put it aside to read last - these are emotionally tough to read - nice job again Kevin outlining the trivia and random happenstance (which will be significant) of the day - makes it real. One STRONG suggestion: yesterday, it ran in the center fold of the News section, but today it ran on pages News-12/13 - why was it moved? I.e. in my edition, the center fold at News-26 is misc. local headlines and News-27 is a full-page ad for Motorazr. Temple has strongly supported The Crossing, and I'm assuming this will be a two page spread through the series, so logical spot is in the center fold which would provide nice consistantcy throughout the series. I gottta believe John would support this - give him a holler (right now!) and have him say yes. My two cents.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for your support. As for where the stories are running in the paper, I would say that it is based on a complicated set of decisions that I won't go into here. However, we are trying to make it easy, with a front page refer each day, for people to find The Crossing.

alek(Q) With all due respect Kevin, that was a "weak" answer about why The Crossing can't run in the Center Fold. The message I took home from today's placement was that an ad for MotoRazr was more deserving of the center fold that The Crossing. I'll assume that was unintentional, but the impression is still there - again, I'd encourage you to run the permanent placement idea up the chain of command.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I honestly can't answer it any better than that. I am not involved in booking the paper and deciding where the newshole is located. However, I will pass your thoughts on to my supervisors.

alek(C) Fair 'nuff Kevin - thanks in advance for running up the flagpole ... and again, great series.

deanamo(Q) #4 post: This brings to mind another similar tradgedy of crosssing the RR tracks. A tragedy where 6 young men lost their lives at a RR crossing about a mile or two north of Brighton, CO. All were members of Zion Lutheran Church here in Brighton.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) There have been many, many tragedies at railroad crossings. The reality is, when something that big and heavy is moving and hits a car, it is seldom a minor thing. I have written about dozens of crossing fatalities and been on scene of many. They are heartbreaking, and they are always serious.

Linda(Q) I know that at the time of the accident and years after alot of people felt the same way that the train was going way too fast for being so close to the town of LaSalle and that they should have been held responsable.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) That sentiment previals among a lot of people. However, there is no evidence to contradict the railroad's assertion that the train was being operated within the limits for that area.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Can you give us a preview of tomorrow's installment?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) You will meet the rest of the children on the bus and follow as it gets closer to The Crossing.

Mark_Wolf(P) Thanks for everyone's time and excellent questions. mf, I'll have Kevin answer your question in tomorrow's chat - or you can return and post it yourself.