January 31, 2007 11:41 AM

Kevin Vaughan on The Crossing: Chapter 8

deanamo(Q) I was pleased to see the combined previous chapters of "The Crossing" in Saturday's RMN. I hope that you can have a complete summary of all chapters at the finale, on March 1st, or shortly thereafter.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thanks for your interest. We are discussing reprinting the entire series in one special section after it has all published. Although plans have not been finalized, I hope we'll be able to announce something in the coming weeks.

grannyco(Q) I'll neverr forget that day. Duane is a cousin once removed, but I never met him. Thank you for this story things I never knew.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for reading it and spending the time with it. You saw today that even parents who lost children stood behind Duane Harms after the accident. That is one of the many things about this entire incident that I find interesting. The feeling wasn't unanimous, certainly, but many people who lost so much believed that he was a good man.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Just a taste of the reach of this story. I had an online IM chat the other day with a CU journalism student who's spending a year studying in Sweden. He was from Greenely and fascinated by the series. Might be joining us in the chat. It's 7 p.m. in Sweden right now. Have your e-mails about The Crossing come from all over?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Yes, they have. A really interesting thing is happening -- people who have some connection to the Greeley area have been alerted to the series by people still living here, and so word is getting around. I got an e-mail this morning from a woman in the south who is reading the series online. I've gotten messages from many other states. That is gratifying.

trcg(Q) I don't have any questions to ask. Just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful series. I wasn't even born when this accident happened and yet I feel the pain as if this just happened today. My parents on the other hand remember this accident. On of the Bratner family members was singing in the church choir and went to rehearsal that evening and just asked for everyone to pray for thier family and all the families. My mom has never forgotten this request.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for your kind words. Please keep these families in your heart -- they were courageous enough to allow this story to be told, and yet it is still difficult for them to remember the losses.

Jeanne(Q) Hello Kevin- I first want to say thank you for this wnderful series. My cousin Bobby Smock was killed in the accident and you story has given me a wonderful opportunity to discuss some of my family history with my daughter. Will there be an opportunity to purchase a copy of the video?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for your nice note. I obviously never knew Bobby, but I talked extensively with his sisters and other relatives, and you sill see a chapter about him later in the series. We are talking currently about how to make the videos available to people. As with a reprint, no final decisions have been made. Hopefully, we can let people know something in the coming weeks. Again, thank you for your interest in this series.

mf(Q) I believe that one of your goals is to revisit the tragedy and gather as much as you can for its' need to be documented. Since it is part of our history now, I also suggest this story be available in its' entirety rather than having to clip the article from 33 newspapers.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Again, we are discussing that right now. I hope we'll be able to tell you something soon.

hgsw(Q) I have known RR Engineers involved in suicides on the tracks and it stayed with them very vividly.Do you know the reactions of the train crew?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) The train crewmen are no longer living, so I do not have first-hand accounts from them. However, I have transcripts of their court testimony, and of course they were quoted extensively in the newspapers at that time. I think it's fair to say that it was difficult for them. My other reporting over the years has led me to talk to other engineers who were involved in fatal crashes, and they all expressed similar sentiments. It was something they all hoped to avoid throughout their careers.

ric(Q) I was skiing in Winter Park last week and lucked out finding this great story in a coffee house and now on my computer at home-OHIO. First stop after I get off work as an ER rn. Medical treatment was so much more primitive then when I was a student.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Hello, Ohio. Medicine has definitely come a long way. At the same time, I point to people that every child who survived the initial crash lived. None of them are maimed. Even the three kids who suffered broken backs recovered well. While medicine has certainly advanced a lot since that time, we should respect the tremendous work done then by the doctors and nurses who worked on these kids.

mf(Q) Kevin, I read the articles you had from the Greeley tribune. It listed the deceased the day of the tragedy and Jacquelyn White was not among them. One the State Patrol report it listed her as being sent to the hospital. What were the circumstances of her death? Did she die at the hospital and was it the same day or later?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) There must be some confusion. Jacquelyn White survived the accident and is still alive today. However, she lost her two sisters, Elaine and Juleen, in the crash.

Brooke63(Q) Have all 33 installments been written?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Yes. However, it is still possible that we will make small changes to the later chapters if new information becomes available. In one case, we were contacted last week by a family member of one of the children who died who was able to provide us some information that we worked into a later chapter. However, I don't expect the stories to change substantially.

1226(Q) where did you get all of the court records
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Some of the court records were available on microfilm in Greeley. Others were discovered with the assistance of a court administrator who helped us search paper records that had been in storage for decades. Some other records have not been located, unfortunately, and may have been lost to time.

Brooke63(Q) What are the chances this will be made into a movie?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I don't really have any idea at this point. A number of people have asked me about the possibility of a book. That is an idea I would like to explore, but nothing is in the works as of this time. In some ways, it might be difficult to be told as a movie because it involves so many people. However, I saw "We Are Marshall" a couple weeks ago, and it was about a plane crash that killed 75 people, and it was done very well. Consequently, I think it could be possible.

hgsw(Q) Is this the first time ever that this tragedy been revisited in detail or as a remembrance?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) The accident was written about extensively in the days after the accident by the local newspapers, and the Greeley Tribune has published a number of stories on the various anniversaries over the years. The most comprehensive piece I have seen was published in Redbook magazine in June 1962. It was called "Tragedy at 8 a.m." and it was written by Joseph P. Blank. However, many of the people I interviewed said they had never talked before about this with a reporter, so much of this story has not been told before now.

mf(Q) Thanks for the correction on the Jacquelyn White. Are the attornies that were involved in the prosecution and defense still alive and able to assist with the story?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Jim Shelton, who represented Duane Harms, passed away some years ago. However, his wife and his daughter were extremely helpful and made his files available to us. Karl Ahlborn, the lead prosecuting attorney, also passed away many years ago. However, his assistant prosecutor, Bill Bohlender, is still alive and was also very helpful. And Bill's wife, Mary Bohlender, who was a court clerk during the Harms trial and who is now the chief administrator in Weld County courts, was also extremely helpful.

Linda(Q) Kevin, some people are talking about trying to get a memeorial put up at the accident site, what do you think of this and would you attend the gathering and help with contacting the right agencies to get this done?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) This is a quetion that I asked some of the families during my interviews -- did it bother them that there was not a memorial? None of them was particularly bothered by it. That said, I would help in any way I could to get a memorial erected if the families wanted that done. I believe that is their call. And I would be honored to be there if it is done. I have visited that spot many, many times working on this story, and I hope that what happened there is never forgotten.

Mark_Wolf(Q) From a readers's comment: As a paramedic driver, this was not an accident. It was entirely preventable carelessness. I would have gotten out and looked. I can't believe the driver didn't. Also, how did he not hear a locomotive's horn. Even with the children yelling, with the door open he should have heard the horn. Did the engineer blow too early?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I would answer this sentiment two ways. First, the school bus driver regulations prohibited him from getting out of the bus with the engine running. He could have shut everything down, I suppose, and gotten out. Second, I believe the train engineer blew the whistle -- at least one independent witness heard it -- but it is impossible to know exactly where in relation to the crossing that happened. Yes, the accident was preventable. At the same time, many factors, including a poorly designed crossing, contributed to the accident, I believe.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Today's chapter deals with the investigation of the crash. Prosecutors moved very quickly to file manslaughter charges against Duane Harms. Did you find any indication they may have moved too quickly?
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Not really. It was a different time. At the scene, authorities gathered up the dead within an hour of the accident and took them to the morgue. The time spent on investigations back then was not what it is today. Certainly, the charges were filed quickly. However, I don't think taking more time would have changed the charges they filed, so I don't see any evidence they rushed into something they didn't feel was justified.

Jeanne(Q) Please keep everyone posted about the video. I have not really talked very much to Bobby's sisters about his loss. We were not very close because they were quite a bit older than I am. Bobby died before I was born, but I remember my Aunt Dorothy, Bobby's mom, was affected by his loss her whole life. I took my daughter out to the site last sunday to show her where it happened. One of her comments was how quiet it was there. It is hard to imagine the devasation and carnage of that morning. The most vivid memory I have of the stories from my family is the picture that appeared on the front page of the Tribune of Dorothy leaning down to look under a tarp covering the body of Bobby. She was prompted to look because she saw his cowboy boot was sitting near his body. My heart breaks eveytime I see the picture. I can't imagine being in that position.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) That is a heart-rending picture, to be sure. I don't think any parent can see that image and not be struck by how awful a moment and memory that must have been. I know Dorothy was troubled by that for the rest of her life. However, I think when we get to her chapter you will feel good to see some of what went on later in her life, and particularly the special relationship she and Dick had with one of their grandsons.

Sheri(Q) I live in Arkansas now, but grew up in the Greeley area. For years I drove over those tracks not knowing they were the ones. We didn't move to Colorado until the early 70's, but the events still lingered in everyone hearts.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Many, many people who have lived here a long time knew little of this tragedy. One of my goals in writing this was that the people of this state know about Dec. 14, 1961, about the children who were lost, and about the incredible families left behind.

mf(Q) Kevin, I have talked to a friend in Gunnison who commented they relate to this story as there was a Gunnison school bus accident that killed JV football players and their coach on Monarch Pass in 1971.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) I have heard about that accident and several other ones over the years. They all touch me -- my daughter rides a school bus now. I think every parent can relate to this.

hgsw(Q) You should ask for donations for any memorial and I would think anybody having read the series would donate.I would.
Kevin_Vaughan(A) Thank you for that idea. We will consider that. Before I would do that, however, I would want to make sure that was something the families were comfortable with. This is their story. I would want them to support anything that was done in that regard.

Kevin_Vaughan(P) Thank all of you for writing and especially for reading "The Crossing." I know that so many kind sentiments have touched the families of the children on that bus in a profound way already. I'll be back on RockyTalkLive again soon.