A Time for Grief and Reality, too

The Daily Tribune - Editorial

Randy Graf, Publisher-General Manager

Thomas G. Enwright, Managing Editor

March 30, 1995

Hit-and-run driver who killed Deidre needs to come forward.

The mourning continues for 11-year-old Deidre Week, and so does the search for the driver who struck her while she was riding her bicycle Friday evening.

The accident happened on County Trunk HH, just north of Vesper and a short distance from her house at 6913 County Trunk HH. According to reports, Deidre was northbound when she was struck from behind by a vehicle that left the scene. She was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield.

It must be a most difficult time for Deidre’s parents, David and Brenda, and her brothers, Brandon and Avery, as well as grandparents and other relatives and friends. It’s a double blow – first, an accident that takes a life, and then the insult of the driver trying to escape from reality.

Over the weekend, the family had to cope with this dual pain.

On Monday, Deidre’s fifth-grade classmates at Vesper Elementary School, along with teachers and staff, had to cope with the reality of Deidre’s passing.

On Tuesday, friends came to the funeral home to console the family and share their love.

On Wednesday, family and friends gathered at the United Methodist Church in Wisconsin Rapids in search of spiritual support, peace and comfort for themselves and this young girl. And after the funeral service, her body was laid to rest in the Port Edwards Cemetery. A cluster of balloons flew into the air from the graveside, a tender symbol of love and a beautiful tribute to a girl who many will remember for her active young life.

The obituary said she was active in the 4-H club and its horse project. She sang in the school’s swing choir, played the piano and viola. She also took dance lessons. She was a busy girl, with so much potential.

Her principal, Edward Schmidt, said it so well in a story in Monday’s Tribune: “Like all of our kids, she was a gift to us. She was bubbly, hard-working, a good friend to the students in her class and participated fully in the life of the school. She accomplished a great deal in her short life.”

So many people have had to cope with this personal tragedy and face the reality of Deidre’s death.

But there’s still a driver out there somewhere – and perhaps a passenger – who should face reality, too, and come forward to authorities. It’s bad enough that the driver didn’t stop and render assistance. It’s even worse to try and hide from the reality of snuffing out the life of an 11-year-old girl.

For the benefit of the family and for the driver’s own conscience, it’s vitally important for the driver to come forward. It’s the only way to permit some closure to this sad episode.