The death of a child elicits sympathy as much as it does gossip, especially if you live in a small town.
Unfortunately, in many cases, that gossip begets judgmental finger pointing, and more often than not, the loss of a young life gets overshadowed by rampant speculation and vicious accusations.
That’s exactly what’s taking place in a tiny town not far from my rural Wisconsin home.
Last night, an innocent 2-year-old girl died after ingesting an unknown amount of gasoline. Meanwhile, her 4-year-old brother is currently fighting for his life after swallowing the same gas that killed his sister.
According to police, the kids found the volatile liquid sitting in a can on the back seat of a neighbor’s car. Officers say the children likely stumbled upon the gas while they were playing unattended in the vehicle.
There are conflicting reports that the kids’ mother couldn’t find her children and called 911 prior to locating them in the neighbor’s car. Police confirm the 34-year-old mother discovered her children, but it wasn’t until after they had ingested the gasoline.
Several news sources report that EMTs spent 45 minutes outside of the vehicle trying to resuscitate the girl, but to no avail. During that time a crowd of Looky-Loos and Nosy Nellies gathered to watch the horrific scene unfold. Sadly, the tragic news started spreading like wildfire around the small town, thanks in large part to cellphones and social media platforms.
Fast forward to this morning and you have a dead toddler, a seriously ill preschooler, a family in shock and a bunch of strangers blaming the kids’ parents for not keeping an eye on their offspring. Meanwhile, others have been speculating on how the children were able to ingest a deadly amount of the gas given its offensive scent.
Because, you know, it’s not bad enough that these parents lost a daughter and their son is fighting for his life, sometimes you just have to dig the dagger in a little deeper by tossing around charges of neglect, self centeredness and stupidity.