Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Rusty Goat on October 26, 2010, 01:23:18 PM
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http://ronkramerlaw.com/utah-wrongful-d ... ndon-teen/ (http://ronkramerlaw.com/utah-wrongful-death/sunrise-academy-rollover-accident-takes-life-of-london-teen/)
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Survived Swineflu in Greece only to die because someone apperently didn't watch the road
British girl who survived swine flu is killed in US car crash (http://http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23890511-british-girl-who-survived-swine-flu-is-killed-in-us-car-crash.do), by Mark Prigg, The London Evening Standard, October 22, 2010
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Nothing like good old-fashioned incompetence to kill another kid.
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was she referred by Scheff? :deal: If so, add Scheff to the list of defendants.
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The story from the OP, which is from the website of a Utah personal injury attorney group, is copied out here for posterity's sake... There's also a clip of video news footage at the link (courtesy of KSL.com):
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Kramer Law Group — Utah Accident and Injury Lawyers
Sunrise Academy Rollover Accident Takes Life of London Teen (http://http://ronkramerlaw.com/utah-wrongful-death/sunrise-academy-rollover-accident-takes-life-of-london-teen/)
Posted By Ron Kramer on October 19, 2010
Natasha Newman, 17 years old from London, England, died October 17, 2010, following a rollover accident in Sevier County, Utah. According to the Spectrum, six students from Sunrise Academy, a youth home for troubled youth, were en route from Hurricane, Utah to Moab when the driver reportedly tried to get the attention of another vehicle in the convoy and lost control of the Chevy Suburban he or she was driving, causing the SUV to go off the left side of the road, rolling several times. Another 17 year-old student from Arlington, Mass, who was reportedly wearing only her lap belt, was ejected from the vehicle. She was transported to a Salt Lake hospital in critical condition. Four others in the vehicle also suffered injury, non-life threatening, and they were taken to Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield, Utah.
I send my deepest condolences to the family of Natasha Newman for her tragic, untimely death. I also send my best wishes to those who were injured in this crash.
In situations like this, the public wants to know how exactly the accident happened so that similar repeats can be avoided or reduced. In this particular case, based on the news report, it sounds like the driver of this SUV failed to keep reasonable control of the vehicle. It also sounds like the driver allowed him or herself to be distracted by this other Sunrise Academy car on the road. At any rate, it is inexcusable, especially when you are transporting others for a commercial purpose, to drive in such a distracted manner. I wonder how old this driver was and how much experience they had transporting others commercially. The academy is responsible under the legal principle of respondeat superior for the negligence of their employees and agents who drive negligently and kill or hurt their passengers.
The family of Natasha are thus left with a wrongful death action against Sunrise Academy and the driver of the Suburban. Given the parent’s domicile in London, England, the action would need to be filed in federal court. The statute of limitations for filing such an action is two years.
The others injured in this crash, also have a claim against the Sunrise Academy and/or the driver. These claims potentially could be resolved against the insurance company for Sunrise Academy. I would advise the families of these teens to contact an experienced Utah wrongful death and personal injury lawyer for advise on the remedies that they might have.
The Kramer Law Group does not currently represent any of the parties referenced in the article at the time it was written. We have cited and linked to the source of our information. If you were involved in the above incident, or one like it, and have questions about your rights and possible remedies, you may call us or another reputable Utah personal injury law firm. Do not act based on the above information without getting a consultation. The best Utah personal injury attorneys will offer a free consultation. We offer a free and confidential consultation to those (and their family members) not substantially at fault in causing their accident. The information and opinions expressed above are provided as a public service and should not be used in place of legal advice from a qualified attorney.
Copyright © 2010 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
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Here's some news coverage...
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Deseret News
Girl from troubled youth center killed in rollover (http://http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700074349/Girl-from-troubled-youth-center-killed-in-rollover.html)
By Paul Koepp, Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 4:16 p.m. MDT
SEVIER, Sevier County — One person was killed and another critically injured Sunday morning in a crash on I-70 in Sevier County.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, six members of the Sunrise Academy — a treatment center and boarding school for troubled girls — were riding in a Chevrolet Suburban from Hurricane to Moab shortly before 9 a.m. when the driver lost control and rolled the vehicle.
Natasha Newman, 17, of London, England, died at the scene. Another 17-year-old girl from Arlington, Mass., was ejected from the front passenger seat. She was taken to Sevier Valley Hospital and then flown to a Salt Lake area hospital in critical condition.
Four others went to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Just before the accident occurred, the passengers of the Suburban were trying to get the attention of passengers in another vehicle from the academy as they passed it on a curve, UHP said.
— Paul Koepp
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Just before the accident occurred, the passengers of the Suburban were trying to get the attention of passengers in another vehicle from the academy as they passed it on a curve, UHP said.[/list]
Geeezzz... what can one say...
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There is also video news footage at the link...
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KSL.com
SUV carrying troubled youth rolls; 1 killed (http://http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12859484)
October 17th, 2010 @ 5:04pm
By ksl.com
(http://http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2488/248800/24880024.JPG?filter=ksl/pgallery)
(http://http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2488/248800/24880025.JPG?filter=ksl/pgallery)
(http://http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2488/248800/24880026.JPG?filter=ksl/pgallery)
(Photo Credits: Utah Department of Public Safety)
SEVIER COUNTY -- One teen was killed and another critically injured Sunday morning in a crash on Interstate 70 in Sevier County.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, six members of the Sunrise Academy -- a treatment center and boarding school for troubled girls -- were riding in a Chevy Suburban from Hurricane to Moab around 9:00 a.m. when the driver tried to pass another car, lost control and rolled the vehicle.
One passenger, 17-year-old Natasha Newman of London, England, was killed. A 17-year-old from Arlington, Mass. was ejected from the vehicle when it rolled. She was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital in critical condition.
Four others went to Sevier Valley Hospital with minor injuries. Troopers closed several lanes for an hour and a half so they could clean up the wreckage.
Investigators are looking into whether any charges should be filed.
© 2010 ksl.com | KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City UT
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Just before the accident occurred, the passengers of the Suburban were trying to get the attention of passengers in another vehicle from the academy as they passed it on a curve, UHP said.[/list]
Geeezzz... what can one say...
I think we agree here, Ursus. There is only so much people can do to keep teenagers safe these days. This happens way too often. Transporting children safely has always been a continuous problem which holds many risks.
...
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Just before the accident occurred, the passengers of the Suburban were trying to get the attention of passengers in another vehicle from the academy as they passed it on a curve, UHP said.[/list]
Geeezzz... what can one say...
I think we agree here, Ursus. There is only so much people can do to keep teenagers safe these days. This happens way too often. Transporting children safely has always been a continuous problem which holds many risks.
Ya mean... we SHOULDN'T hold Sunrise Academy accountable for NOT ensuring that the girls had their seat belts on properly?
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Just before the accident occurred, the passengers of the Suburban were trying to get the attention of passengers in another vehicle from the academy as they passed it on a curve, UHP said.[/list]
Geeezzz... what can one say...
I think we agree here, Ursus. There is only so much people can do to keep teenagers safe these days. This happens way too often. Transporting children safely has always been a continuous problem which holds many risks.
Ya mean... we SHOULDN'T hold Sunrise Academy accountable for NOT ensuring that the girls had their seat belts on properly?
I think the transport company and/or academy should be held responsible and especially the driver. I just think it is sad that this happens all too often to our teenagers in this country and I fear it will just be getting worse with the added distraction of people texting. We do a lot in our schools to raise awareness about the dangers of driving, drinking, texting etc. but the death toll continues on.
I had a niece mention to me that since they passed a law in Massachusetts making texting illegal while driving this adds even another layer of distraction because now the kids are driving, texting and now looking out for police!!
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Apparently Sunrise Academy was less than fully diligent about ensuring that the girls were properly secured by their seat belts. The girl that got ejected from the vehicle and was hence critically injured ... was only wearing the lap restraint.
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The Salt Lake Tribune
Teen killed, another critically injured in I-70 rollover (http://http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50490095-76/killed-rollover-afternoon-crash.html.csp)
Published Oct 17, 2010 03:58PM · Updated Oct 18, 2010 03:11PM
A teenager was killed Sunday afternoon in a rollover crash on Interstate 70 near Sevier.
A Suburban carrying six people from the Sunrise Academy youth home in Hurricane was eastbound when the driver tried to get another driver's attention and lost control of the vehicle just before 9 a.m., the Utah Highway Patrol said.
Natasha Newman, a 17-year-old from England, died at the scene, police said. A 17-year-old girl from Arlington, Mass., was thrown from the vehicle and flown to a Salt Lake City hospital in critical condition. She was wearing only the lap restraint in the front passenger seat, UHP said.
Four other people were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, UHP said.
Troopers were investigating the crash Sunday afternoon.
— Aaron Falk
Copyright 2010 The Salt Lake Tribune.
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This is real sad. According to one of the comments below, the girl who was critically injured and airlifted to a Salt Lake City hospital has also died. I'd guess it was some time after 9:30 p.m. (EDT?) on October 20, when her parents opted to have the life support pulled. I believe she was from Arlington, Massachusetts.
It also looks like Sunrise Academy proponents are weighing in heavily with their comments, and with damage control on their minds...
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Comments (http://http://comments.sltdb.com/comments.php?id=50490095) left for the above article, "Teen killed, another critically injured in I-70 rollover (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=385190#p385188)" (by Aaron Falk; Oct 17, 2010; The Salt Lake Tribune):
Babyboomer says · Oct 17, 2010 04:40 pm
Sunrise Academy website proclaims a high level of safety for teenage girls with a ultimate goal of reuniting families and to bring daughters home! If Sunrise Academy is going to except $ from parents to take on these teens and all that comes with them,For God sake, make sure these girls are buckled in the vehicle before putting vehicle into drive.It is sometimes the simplest of things that these so called educated,pros seem to over look.I personally know of a teen who was denied a Dr (at a state ordered teen camp)with a outcome similar to this.Mother was able to sue and win,It doesn't bring back a loved one,but these kind of places need to know this is not easy money it is 24/7 and there maybe times when the teen cries wolf,but who are they to judge if it is crying wolf or the real thing!
hail to the chef says · Oct 17, 2010 05:00 pm
Not the first death caused by Utah's flourishing "tough love" industry.
utecougar says · Oct 17, 2010 07:40 pm
The "industry" and its practices didn't cause this accident.
joyous863 says · Oct 18, 2010 08:42 am
You should probably know what you are talking about before you comment -- it makes you sound stupid. Sunrise is not a "tough love" program. They are a treatment center for youth struggling with problems. This is not a wilderness setting. The girls attend school on campus, some have off campus jobs, and the trip they were going on was an earned activity, not a tough trip through the desert. Accidents happen, it is unfortunate and heartwrenching to those involved not a soap box for you to jump on. I know first hand that these girls are dearly loved and cared for by all the staff at sunrise. For you to inply anything less is stupid. Again, unless you have walk in any of these shoes, keep you hurtful comments to yourself. Sunrise has saved many girls and families through their loving, caring treatment of at risk youth. Not exactly a money making career. Most have to work two jobs just to survive, but they do it for the love of the girls. Next time, keep your stuid comments to yourself. To the girls and staff: may God wrap his comforting arms of love around you during this most difficult time.
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laytonian says · Oct 17, 2010 05:05 pm
Was there a reason they were travelling via freeway?
Hurricane to Moab is MUCH MORE beautiful if one goes through Escalante, Boulder, Torrey....
BUT this one's going to get ugly. Why? Another newspaper is reporting that the passengers in the SUV that rolled, were trying to get the attention of passengers in an accompanying Sunrise vehicle.
In any case: distracted driving.
MagickMike says · Oct 17, 2010 07:05 pm
Seatbelts! Seatbelts! Seatbelts!
How many times does it have to be repeated?
sunrise10 says · Oct 18, 2010 07:45 am
I think it is horrific that you dare pass judgement on a situation you know nothing about. I think its sad that you would critisize rather than support all those affected by this TRAGIC ACCIDENT. We are heartbroken, crying and showing up to work to help support several other teenagers who are crying and heartbroken as well. We need support and uplifting thoughts and care, not some judgement from a person who doesn't know anything or anyone associated with this. Think twice about what you say.....because you dont have the right.
Heartbroken says · Oct 18, 2010 08:15 am
If you have ever driven in a van full of kids (especially teens)you know that even if you start out all properly seat belted, its a given that at least one seat belt will adjusted or taken off. If you have never had this happen to you, you probably arent a parent, you probably havent been a teen or a child, and im sure you dont have cousins or siblings. The amazing girl that died was not a pay check and its insulting that you would imply that. I ask that instead of judging the people involved you focus your thoughts on the families that have been forever effected by this tragedy and the girl that is fighting for her life. If you are naive enough to think that things like this could never happen to you, i hope that you are not rudely awoken one day to your wife, daughter, son, mother, husband, aunt.....caught in such a tragedy.
Incensed Citizen says · Oct 18, 2010 09:35 am
Teen-age driving is a fear that any parent suffers from the moment their son or daughter gets their license until they become experienced, safe drivers, which in some cases, never happens. As a parent myself, knowing my teen was out on the road, regardless of time of day, the possibility of an accident loomed over my conscious mind sometimes to the point of being actually debilitating. It's a fear that never goes away. All we can do is educate them and hope they are sensible enough to heed the advice. It's a tragedy no parent should ever have to face. Skill in driving comes only through education and experience. It's the in-between times that scare the bejeezus out of me.
Babyboomer says · Oct 19, 2010 04:32 pm
No one can care for a child like a parent ! Sugar coat it all you want, but sunrise posted a annual revenue of 2.5 million- 5 million based on 20 to 49 students.So do not tell me is not about the $$. This is a tragedy for the parents that put there trust in Sunrise. There family members should have been safe at all times. Unless Sunrise or other academy's can guarantee 100% a child will be safe than they do not have the right to be taking on these children. Being a parent of 3 boys I would not feel good about someone else calling the shots in my child's life.Maybe the families involved in this tragedy feel the same way?
joyous863 says · Oct 21, 2010 10:59 am
Babyboomer I will prayer for you. You will find through raising your 3 wonderful boys that you will not always be able to control eveything in their lives, you will have to let them live. At somepoint, you will let them go on a scouting trip, field trip or athletic trip with the school. Something bad may happen, and it won't be anyone's fault, it will just be this thing called "life" that you are probably restricting them from living right now. Parents send their children to RTC out of love. Everything doesn't always go perfect and sometime people need help, due to no fault or imperfections on their part, some parents need help getting their children through the struggling years. You won't make it through this life without experiencing and least a taste of that. There are no 100% guarantees in life. Again, I'm sending my prayers your way, because one day soon, you are going to have a very hard awaking that life is not always perfect and we don't have control, that is the guy upstairs, we are just his instruments. I pray that people will rally around you at that dark minute to help pull you through with their love. You'll probably find that those you have judge the harshes, will be the first in line to help you.
Heartbroken says · Oct 21, 2010 11:34 pm
by all means than, dont send your children away. In fact you should probably not allow them to go on field trips either. Certainly i dont need to mention allowing them to play sports because im sure you are aware of the dangers there. Last time i checked there have been deaths in public schools as well so i guess you will be home schooling. As for the $$ thing, yes Im sure Sunrise makes money. However, for you to imply that its "about the money" is just flat out an assumption on your part and you know what they say about assumptions. Money being made makes it possible to continue to provide good care, loving staff and amazing therapists. If your method of raising children works for you and you raise saints without them ever stepping out of your front door than more power to you. For the rest of us though, we have problems and we want our kids to experience life with its ups and downs and in that there is a risk of something horrible and tragic like this accident happening. Best of luck to you, and although i am completely appalled by your ignorance, i do hope that you never need to humble yourself to ask for help with your sweet boys
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kc_soc says · Oct 19, 2010 07:51 pm
I have worked at an RTC and have taken vans full of girls on trips to Moab or Zions. No matter the checks you do in the beginning, often girls would move the belts to be more comfortable (ie putting the across the shoulder strap behind them).
I feel for the staff and youth and Sunrise for their experience in such a tragic accident. My thoughts are with the families of these girls and especially for the young woman recovering in the hospital.
I caution against the judgment given here about the families of these girls and Sunrise Academy unless you know first hand the experience of a family and teen in crisis. Yes, there is money made in a private RTC - but that is completely separate from the compassion of the residential staff, therapists and teachers that work there.
pyrogarc says · Oct 20, 2010 07:57 pm
Just letting everyone know. I knew the girl that was sent to the hospital. she had severe brain injuries, she was in a coma, and she was in life support. Today 10/20/2010 at 9:30pm Her parents decided to unplug her from life support. Friends, family, and my high school is devastated. She is in a better place and I hope she rest in peace.
SUNRISE0240 says · Oct 20, 2010 10:31 pm
Dear Babyboomer, you're quite ignorant I hope you know. Let me ask you something. Did you attend Sunrise Academy? I didn't think so, because if you did, or if any of your children did, you wouldn't be saying the trash that is coming out of your mouth. I went to treatment there for 7 months. May 09 - Dec 09 and I've been home for 10 months now. The way the media, and ignorant people are responding to this tragic incident is ridiculous and I am appalled completely. What is it with you people? In our such perfect world can we never expect the unexpected to happen? I didn't think so, because that's life. It doesn't matter how this incident happened, it did. It could be just teenagers driving and this happen, it could've been grandparents driving their grandchildren, and this could happen. It just so happens to be that this incident happened with young teenage girls, with the most loving staff I've ever met in my life, driving the vehicle. The driver was one of my three favorite staff at Sunrise, and she changed my life in ways never possible without the help from the girls and staff from Sunrise. Let me ask you something, all-knowing God, Babyboomer... how much do you think it costs to run a treatment center like this? Hmmm? How much do you think it costs a week to keep a pool in the backyard, to take these girls on trips, to fill the gas tanks of the vehicles, to pay the staff, to have top of the line therapy, to have a nurse, to have one on one education with some of the brightest teachers, how much does it cost a week to have a yoga instructor come and teach the girls yoga, how much does it cost to have dance lessons, how much does it cost to have healthy, nutrious food a week, EVERYDAY, how much does it cost to heat and cool the place with all of about 20 rooms total in that place with 30-35 girls at a time, new ones coming in and out? I'd say about 2.5-5 million dollars a year. So unless you know first hand like I do, I'd say it's in your best intrest to shut up and go back to your life, because your two cents in this conversation mean nothing. If you as a parent, did all you could to SAVE your childs life, to HELP, to MAKE BETTER of your childs life, and nothing was working, what would you do? Say screw it because they MIGHT die, one in a million chance they might die in a car accident?! No, they could die in the life they were living before Sunrise. It's not an easy decision to make to send your own child away to treatment, I saw how hard it was for my parents that first day I was there, but you know what? The outcome of it all was so amazing and I'd do it over a dozen times, no matter how much money it cost, getting my life back, my realtionships back, it doesn't mean a thing to me, and my parents will tell you the same thing, money wasn't the deciding factor in sending me away, it was what was the best place to help our daughter? And it was Sunrise, and it will forever be Sunrise, the place that changed my life.
OhioMom says · Oct 21, 2010 07:58 am
This was a tragic accident and not about RTC's. It is true that no one can love your child like you can, but if all it took to get your child through her teens was love then there wouldn't be a need for RTC's.
My heart breaks for everyone involved in this tragic accident. My thoughts and prayers turn to all of you many times a day. I know from experience that sending your daughter for help was the hardest decision you ever had to make. If your daughter was at Sunrise for any length of time you were seeing progress and getting the sense that your daughter was coming back to you. I cannot image your sorrow at this time and all I have to offer you is prayer. May God bless you and hold you in His loving arms. Turn to Him and lean on Him for strength and comfort. He will not leave you now or ever. When it seems too much to bear, turn your sorrow over to Him and He will bear it for you. Your beautiful, wonderful daughters are in the presence of the Lord and they are at peace. Know that there is an extended community of Sunrise parents and alumni who have heard of your loss and are holding your families up in prayer.
momnrntoo says · Oct 27, 2010 12:14 pm:
What these girls, their families and Sunrise have experienced is a tragedy.We should pray for them and allow them the privacy and the time to grieve and to continue their healing.
Copyright 2010 The Salt Lake Tribune.
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Apparently Sunrise Academy was less than fully diligent about ensuring that the girls were properly secured by their seat belts. The girl that got ejected from the vehicle and was hence critically injured ... was only wearing the lap restraint.
Ultimately they are responsible, but the problem goes way beyond this. Kids are being killed all over the US, being thrown from vehicles unnecessarily. How do we insure that everyone has the proper seat belts? How can the driver of the vehicle be expected to turn around and try to keep telling everyone to fasten their seat belts? That in itself could cause an accident. We could argue that the car companies should install devices to detect this and stop the car automatically, but someone would figure out a way to over ride it if they wanted to. Another thought is there is plenty of education out there to let people know the risks they are taking if they don't buckle up.
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Another article...
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ABC4.com
Teen killed in crash on I-70 (http://http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Teen-killed-in-crash-on-I-70/0trDq5ewxkKTg0H-_ijeFg.cspx)
Published: 10/17 8:56 pm · Updated: 10/17 9:20 pm
(http://http://www.abc4.com/media/lib/5/3/f/f/3ff2e068-03bb-4ae5-989a-f776cc95c091/Story.jpg)
SEVIER COUNTY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - One teenager was killed and five others were injured after a suburban carrying teenagers rolled on I-70 Sunday morning.
UHP troopers say the vehicle was traveling from Hurricane to Moab with a group of youth from Sunrise Academy, a treatment center for troubled teenage girls.
Near milepost 23 the driver lost control in a curve and corrected back. The vehicle then went off the left side of the road and rolled several times.
17-year-old Natasha Newman from London, England suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
Another 17-year-old female from Arlington, Massachusetts was ejected from the vehicle and transported by Life Flight to a Salt Lake area hospital.
The other four occupants of the vehicle were taken to Sevier Valley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police say charges will be evaluated when the investigation on the crash is complete.
Copyright 2010 Newport Television LLC
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A short piece of video news footage at the link...
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FOX 13 News
Girl from London dies in rollover on I-70 (http://http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-fatal-rollover-sevier-county,0,7592403.story)
Aaron Vaughn, Web Content Producer FOX 13 News
7:21 PM MDT, October 17, 2010
SEVIER COUNTY, Utah - A 17-year-old girl died after the SUV she was riding in rolled on Interstate 70 Sunday morning.
Six passengers from a youth program were riding in a Chevy Suburban on their way from Hurricane to Moab when the vehicle rolled. UHP says the driver was trying to get the attention of another vehicle when he lost control of the vehicle after they encountered a curve in the road.
The vehicle rolled near mile marker 73 not far from the town of Sevier.
One passenger was ejected and was flown to a Salt Lake area hospital in extremely critical condition.
The passengers were said to be part of a youth center called Sunrise Academy out of Hurricane. They were traveling with another vehicle, which was ahead of the Suburban when the accident occurred.
17-year-old Natasha Newman from London, England, was killed.
Troopers say the other victim who is in critical condition, was only wearing the lap belt while riding in the passenger seat.
"A lot of times people go for comfort and put that shoulder strap behind them. That shoulder strap does do a lot in keeping the person in the seat, helps keep them from getting flung out of the seat belt," said Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Cameron Roden.
Copyright © 2010, KSTU-TV · 5020 W Amelia Earhart Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84116
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Comments left for the above article, "Girl from London dies in rollover on I-70 (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=385284#p385284)" (by Aaron Vaughn; October 17, 2010; FOX 13 News), form the basis of the following Topix thread.
My guess is that the above article, as well as the below descriptive, originally included the phrase "troubled youth program," judging by all the discussion about it...
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"FATAL CRASH UTAH: One dead in SUV rollover near Hurricane (http://http://www.topix.net/forum/source/fox13now/TH4IE9EOV7T3OBQHI)":
"One person died after a SUV rolled on I-70 Sunday afternoon. Six passengers from a youth program were riding in a Suburban on their way from Hurricane to Moab when the vehicle rolled."[/list]
#1 Anonymous Wappingers Falls, NY · Sunday Oct 17
I think, in the light of such a profound tragedy, it would have been better if you had not labled these girls as "troubled youth". These girls are in a residential treatment facility because they need more help than their parents or home communities could provide. They and their families should be commended for seeking the assistance of qualified professionals. My heart goes out to everyone at Sunrise.
#2 Samantha Gossman Urbanna, VA · Monday Oct 18
I completely agree with the anonymous poster. I actually graduated from the mentioned Residential Treatment Center in August of 2007, and I do think it was in poor taste to refer to the girls as troubled.
#3 Jim Sexton Tempe, AZ · Monday Oct 18
My daughter is a current student at Sunrise and I will tell you the First commentor has it right. Sunrise and the people who are a part of that program are some of the most caring, best individuals I have ever met. They work very hard every day to help these wonderful young girls work thru their varying personal issues. There is nothing troubled about the program or the girls. They are great kids struggling with teenage issues as they try to grow up. I and the other Sunrise parents make a supreme effort to support and nurture these girls. My thoughts and prayers to all at Sunrise as they work thru this difficult time. JFS
#4 Anonymous Elgin, UK · Monday Oct 18
I knew Sasha (the girl who died), she was a really bubbly girl who doesn't deserve the label 'troubled youth'. She had a lot going on but she was not a bad person. I hope the people at Sunrise get through this, our school is really affected by her death. RIP x
#5 Brittany Buena Park, CA · Monday Oct 18
I went to Sunrise when I was thirteen. Anyone who was there with me will know that I wasn't a troubled youth, neither were they. It's offensive to be referred to like that. It sounds like we committed horrible crimes, and had to be shoved away like an inmate.
This accident was a tragedy. If there was anyway I could turn back time, and make sure it never happened, I would. I don't know any of the girls who are there now, but nobody deserves to die at such a young age. My positive thoughts are going out to her family, and everyone at Sunrise.
#6 Cheryl Hurricane, UT · Monday Oct 18
My thoughts and prayers go out to all that were involved in this tragedy. To the family who has lost a child, to the girls who were involved in this accident and the girls who have lost a good friend,and to the Sunrise employee's.
#7 Anonymous Saint George, UT · Monday Oct 18
I know Sunrise. They are the most caring of programs in our industry. My prayers go out to the families of the beautiful young lady who lost her life, those injured, those affected, and those of the team at Sunrise. My confidence and support is unshaken in the administration and staff at Sunrise, and their ability to help each of their students, families, and staff get through this tragedy. They are in good hands.
#8 Anonymous Glasgow, UK · Tuesday Oct 19
I knew Sasha a little; she was a friend of my daughter and very much liked and appreciated for her bright and warm personality. What a disgrace of the media to label her "troubled". What a tragedy to have lost her.
#9 Christyn United States · Tuesday Oct 19
I graduated from Sunrise about 5 months ago and I know most of the girls not one of them is troubled. All the girls work very hard to better themselves. I know I did. It is so sad that this happened, I also know who was driving the car and let me just say she was one of the staff I respected the most while I was there, she is one of the funniest and nicest people I have ever met. I'm praying for her, the girls in the accident, and the girls at Sunrise. I love you and miss you all.Stay Strong!
#10 sarah Riverton, UT · Tuesday Oct 19
so very sad. God bless this family.
#11 sarah Riverton, UT · Tuesday Oct 19
so very sad, god be with this family.
#12 anonymous London, UK · Wednesday Oct 20
I absolutely agree with the first post. I too knew Sasha. She was a bright and feisty girl who was really blossoming at Sunrise. She and her family had been working unbelievably hard through the program. It's a tough old world and some have a harder time than others... but surely. in the light of such a profound tragedy, journalists must have a resposibility to chose their words carefully. My heart goes out to everyone involved in such a sad and unfortunate accident.
#13 Susan Lennon Los Angeles, CA · Wednesday Oct 20
No words can describe how heavy my heart is for the family of the child lost as well as the other girls and the staff at Sunrise.
Sunrise, for 9 months, was my daughters family and ours.
I am a parent of a past resident of Sunrise. Although my daughter has been back home for over a year, and we did not know the girls involved, we were very saddened with the news of the accident.
I am so grateful to them for all they have done and will continue to do.
I will keep you all in my prayers
#14 Sonia Brookline, MA · Wednesday Oct 20
The passenger who was thrown from the vehicle is in critical condition and most likely is not going to survive. I hope everyone will extend their thoughts and prayers to the family of this other young woman as well as to the survivors, including the driver, who will have to live with and work through this terrible experience. My heart goes out to all involved, but especially to the families who have lost a much loved daughter and who were clearly doing everything a parent could do to help these young women find their way through the difficult teen years by giving them the opportunity to be at this school. Bless Sasha and bless Grace and bless all these girls and all the boys too who struggle in this world of ours so full of pain as well as of beauty!
#15 hannah hottenroth Los Angeles, CA · Wednesday Oct 20
i agree with everyone here. it was an insult to referred to as a troubled teen. i am a past resident of sunrise. the staff and the girls there were my family for 9 months. i agree with my mother susan lennon with everything she had to say.
though i didnt no any of the girls in the accident my prayers and positive thoughts go out to the families and girls of sunrise academy.
#16 Ashley Columbus, OH · Wednesday Oct 20
I too, went to Sunrise for 7 months and I can honestly say that I have never felt so comforted, or loved in all my life then when I was there. I met some of the most amazing people in this world, and most of them are which the media describe as "troubled" along with me being labeled as that. These staff, these girls, are people I still keep in contact with after 10 months of being home. I did not know the girls, but I am deeply saddened by the news. The driver of the vehicle changed my life forever, and I will never in my life forget Sunrise and the experience, God bless the families and God bless Sunrise.
#17 Twisp Seattle, WA · Thursday Oct 21
I also knew Sasha. She lingers in my mind as the most inspirational person I have ever met. Although I only knew her for several intense weeks, she has made a lasting impression on me. I feel privileged to have experienced her subtle brilliance, playful personality, caring heart, and perhaps above all, her determination and realness. My love goes out to Julian and Nikki, her friends, and all those at Sunrise. Rest in peace, dear Sasha.
#18 concered citizen Cambridge, MA · Thursday Oct 21
To Sunrise ... How come there is no mentioning of the accident and the death of 2 on sunrise website? Gracie died last night, as well. Show some compassion to the families and the broader community
#19 Anonymous Salt Lake City, UT· Thursday Oct 21
I too was a Sunrise Girl. While I did attend years ago, I still feel like every staff and girl in there is in a way, my family. I feel that instead of focusing on what the media has decided to label us as, we should be focusing on what a horrible loss this is and if there is anything we can be doing for the girls or Sunrise. The moment I heard, I wanted to run right down there and try to find a way to help, but that isn't exactly the most practical plan. My thoughts and prayers are with the girls and staff of Sunrise, past, present, and future. If I hear of anyway to help ease the pain of the situation or any needs I could help them fulfill, I would be more than glad to help. Girls, let's please remember what we were taught in group..."God, grant me the serenity to except the thing I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
#20 Momma To Many Los Angeles, CA · Thursday Oct 21
Dear CONCERNED CITIZEN...
This accident was less than a week ago... Somehow I don't think that BLOGGING on their website is at the top of the of things to do today.
Mourning the loss of these Beautiful girls and compassion for their families IS. Don't forget they TOO "SUNRISE" staff as well as the residents are suffering at this time also.
How about giving them ALL a little compassion and space to do so.
Copyright © 2009 - KSTU-FOX 13
Copyright ©2010 Topix LLC
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Reading through the posts it is great to see all the support coming in from previous graduates of SunRise Academy. There are very few negative posts and the graduates seem to be offended by being called "troubled youths" and enjoyed their time in the program.
The programs seems to be very structured and geared towards bringing families together.
...
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Reading through the posts it is great to see all the support coming in from previous graduates of SunRise Academy. There are very few negative posts and the graduates seem to be offended by being called "troubled youths" and enjoyed their time in the program.
The programs seems to be very structured and geared towards bringing families together.
LOL. I guess you could see it that way... I imagine John David Reuben would too. After all, his pal and partner L. Jay Mitchell is quite familiar with Sunrise Academy, it being one of the programs in the InnerChange group, formerly known as Solacium Holdings LLC. I think at one point, perhaps only in West Virginia, Solacium even went by the name of "Solacium-Alldredge (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15652&p=198456#p243596)," did it not?
Personally, some of those comments (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=385295#p385285) in the above Topix thread strike me as being among the more blatant trolling attempts I've seen in a while. I think Sunrise Academy is desperately trying to put a positive PR spin on this tragedy. Too bad they're doing it at the expense of two dead teenagers.
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Reading through the posts it is great to see all the support coming in from previous graduates of SunRise Academy. There are very few negative posts and the graduates seem to be offended by being called "troubled youths" and enjoyed their time in the program.
The programs seems to be very structured and geared towards bringing families together.
LOL. I guess you could see it that way... I imagine John David Reuben would too. After all, his pal and partner L. Jay Mitchell is quite familiar with Sunrise Academy, it being one of the programs in the InnerChange group, formerly known as Solacium Holdings LLC. I think at one point, perhaps only in West Virginia, Solacium even went by the name of "Solacium-Alldredge," did it not?
Personally, some of those comments (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=385295#p385285) in the above Topix thread strike me as among the more blatant trolling attempts I've seen in a while. I think Sunrise Academy is desperately trying to put a positive PR spin on this tragedy. Too bad they're doing it at the expense of two dead teenagers.
I dont see how they could be considered trolling attempts. Why do posts of positive outcomes always strike you as trolling? If two people died in a program which you attended you would probably be on-line trying to lend support yourself or at least give your opinion of the place and your experience since it is getting attention. I know that I would.
I think the lack of negative posts may be more the telling story. I think you would agree here (well not openly) lol.
...
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Here is the rest of that Topix thread:
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Original article:
Girl from London dies in rollover on I-70 (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=385284#p385284)" (by Aaron Vaughn; October 17, 2010; FOX 13 News).[/list]
Topix thread:
FATAL CRASH UTAH: One dead in SUV rollover near Hurricane (http://http://www.topix.net/forum/source/fox13now/TH4IE9EOV7T3OBQHI)."[/list]
"One person died after a SUV rolled on I-70 Sunday afternoon. Six passengers from a youth program were riding in a Suburban on their way from Hurricane to Moab when the vehicle rolled."[/list][/list]
#21 Ellie UK · Thursday Oct 21
My daughter knew Sasha and just hearing her speak today, there is no doubt that Sasha's old school in Scotland are all feeling the loss of her!
I first heard of her when my daughter mentioned another pupil from her school was fighting for her life after contracting swine flu on a family holiday, this was summer '09 and she was very very ill. I think the fact that she survived that showed she had fight and I'm sure she would've ended up fighting her own 'demons' can I say? and winning if her battle with swine flu was anything to go by.
My heart goes out to Sasha's family at this extremely sad and difficult time.
#22 Mother of Another Sandy, UT · Thursday Oct 21
As a parent of two "troubled" children I thank God every day for Sunrise and the programs that helped my other child as well. Children that suffer trauma when young children by a parent and are then left to make sense of this in their teen years need the help of loving, caring, and skilled professionals such as those at Sunrise. When society let my family down, Sunrise was there for us. The two girls who left our world are deeply loved by all of those that knew them. The labeling by the media is just another way that our children and families are let down by society. Let us all reach out to the families of Sasha and Gracie and pray for them during this very difficult time. God bless you all.
#23 Sunrise Resident Sandy, UT · Thursday Oct 21
I am a current resident of Sunrise and am offended to be labeled as a "troubled" person. Personally, I don't feel as though society should label people they've never met based on whether or not their in a treatment facility. I've never done drugs, alcohol, or for that matter, never had sexual relations, and yet I'm labeled as "troubled". It's ridiculous.
For me, I knew Sasha and Gracie and both of them are sorely missed. Not an hour goes by that they aren't thought of. Sasha was full of energy and life, and was always cheering people up. If you were crying, she made you laugh. Gracie was excited, she had just celebrated a birthday. She made connections with everyone and was friendly to all. She always had a smile on her face. As for the driver, I'll just say I know her and she is the one of the most caring and loving individuals I have ever met. She cares about every single one of us and if there was anything that she could have done she would have. Sasha and Gracie, R.I.P.
#24 Cheryl Hurricane, UT · Thursday Oct 21
I was employed at Sunrise as a lead supervisor and my heart goes out to everyone involved. I have been trying to find out who the driver was. I can not find any information.
#25 Sunrise Student Bountiful, UT · Friday Oct 22
I am also offended about the fact that the community see's us as "troubled." I just left sunrise and i feel like they have done so much for me. I wasn't a very good person and now I am thanks to sunrise.
#26 Lisa Wilker Charlotte, NC · Monday Oct 25
I am the cousin of the critically injured student in this accident. Despite all efforts of the surgeons and doctors, she was taken off life support on Wednesday evening October 20th. The family is devastated and our hearts go out to both families who must endure the loss of this horrible accident.
#27 Anonymos Cedar City, UT · Monday Oct 25
To Sunrise ... How come there is no mentioning of the accident and the death of 2 on sunrise website? Gracie died last night, as well. Show some compassion to the families and the broader community
I don't think putting that on the web-site will help anything what-so-ever and will certianly not help the program either. I there is a lot of support being offered by all to those who need it whether you or others see it or not.[/list]
#28 brother Cincinnati, OH · Monday Oct 25
The teen who was ejected from the front seat was my sister. she died at 11:08 pm EST on October 20th. I just wanted to criticize this article on a point; yes, it isn't smart to wear your seatbelt with only the lap on, but the way the article writes it, it seems to blame her for her injuries, when really the blame lies with a terrible accident which occurred randomly and unexpectedly.
#29 Sylvie UK · Tuesday Oct 26
At least the london newspaper reporting this sad story didn't mention the troubled youth remark,it's completely irrelevant anyway.
So sad to hear the other girl has died as well.
Copyright © 2009 - KSTU-FOX 13
Copyright ©2010 Topix LLC
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Readers digest version of the comments:
As a parent of two "troubled" children I thank God every day for Sunrise and the programs that helped my other child as well…..
I am a current resident of Sunrise and am offended to be labeled as a "troubled" person. Personally, I don't feel as though society should label people they've never met…
I was employed at Sunrise as a lead supervisor and my heart goes out to everyone involved….
I am also offended about the fact that the community see's us as "troubled." I just left sunrise and i feel like they have done so much for me.
I am the cousin of the critically injured student in this accident. Despite all efforts of the surgeons and doctors, she was taken off life support…..
The teen who was ejected from the front seat was my sister….. the blame lies with a terrible accident which occurred randomly and unexpectedly.
...
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Here's the article that Oscar's post (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501#p385097) linked to, which mentions Natasha Newman's prior battle with swine flu:
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London Evening Standard
British girl who survived swine flu is killed in US car crash (http://http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23890511-british-girl-who-survived-swine-flu-is-killed-in-us-car-crash.do)
Mark Prigg
22.10.10
A London teenager who had to be put on a life-support machine after contracting swine flu while on holiday in Greece has died 15 months later in a car crash in America.
Natasha Newman, 17, from Highgate — a former pupil at Gordonstoun, Prince Charles's old school — was killed when the people carrier she was riding in crashed and overturned in Utah.
She was a pupil at Sunrise Academy, a residential school for teenage girls, when the accident happened.
At the end of July last year, Miss Newman fell critically ill with swine flu on the island of Cephalonia, and was taken to hospital in Athens. She suffered respiratory failure, pneumonia and lung damage.
Today, police in Utah said six Sunrise Academy girls were in the Chevrolet people carrier when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over several times, as the party travelled between Moab and Hurricane in the Salt Lake area. Miss Newman died at the scene.
Her family was said to be devastated. Her father, Julian Newman, who owns north London company J Newman Textiles, has flown out to the US with a family friend.
Another 17-year-old Sunrise Academy girl from Arlington, Massachusetts, was thrown out of the car when it rolled. She was flown to hospital and remained in a critical condition today. The other four passengers were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
Police said the investigation into the crash is ongoing, and that just before the accident it is believed the driver was trying to attract the attention of another motorist on a bend. No further details were being released about the people carrier's driver.
"We are deeply, deeply saddened by this terrible tragedy," said Dave Prior, executive director of the academy, which describes itself as helping "girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who are struggling with a range of emotional and behavioural issues".
Mr Prior added: "Our hearts break for our student who was killed, for her family, and for all those who sustained injuries or trauma."
Miss Newman's swine flu ordeal was widely covered in the British media. She was in intensive care for several weeks in Athens before she was finally able to fly home with her father and her mother, Nikki Boughton.
© 2010 ES London Limited
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A (slightly abbreviated) version of that last article even made it as far as Qatar:
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Gulf Times · Daily Newspaper published by Gulf Publishing & Printing Co. Doha, Qatar
Girl who survived swine flu dies in crash (http://http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=394128&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20)
London Evening Standard/London
Latest Update: Sunday 24/10/2010 October, 2010, 11:59 PM Doha Time
A London teenager who had to be put on a life-support machine after contracting swine flu while on holiday in Greece has died 15 months later in a car crash in America.
Natasha Newman, 17, from Highgate, — a former pupil at Gordonstoun, Prince Charles's old school — was killed when the people carrier she was riding in crashed and overturned in Utah.
She was a pupil at Sunrise Academy, a residential school for teenage girls, when the accident happened.
At the end of July last year, Newman fell critically ill with swine flu on the island of Cephalonia, and was taken to hospital in Athens. She suffered respiratory failure, pneumonia and lung damage.
Police in Utah said six Sunrise Academy girls were in the Chevrolet people carrier when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over several times, as the party travelled between Moab and Hurricane in the Salt Lake area. Newman died at the scene.
Her family was said to be devastated. Her father, Julian Newman, who owns north London company J Newman Textiles, has flown out to the US with a family friend.
Another 17-year-old Sunrise Academy girl from Arlington, Massachusetts, was thrown out of the car when it rolled. She was flown to hospital and remained in a critical condition. The other four passengers were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
Police said the investigation into the crash is ongoing, and that just before the accident it is believed the driver was trying to attract the attention of another motorist on a bend.
No further details were being released about the people carrier's driver.
"We are deeply, deeply saddened by this terrible tragedy," said Dave Prior, executive director of the academy.
# #
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Here are some articles from back when Natasha Newman was fighting the swine flu which are still accessible on the Net:
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NEWS.scotsman.com
Swine flu leaves Gordonstoun girl fighting for life on Greek holiday (http://http://news.scotsman.com/health/Swine-flu-leaves-Gordonstoun-girl.5511588.jp)
Published Date: 31 July 2009
By MARTYN McLAUGHLIN
A PUPIL at one of Scotland's most prestigious schools was fighting for her life in a Greek hospital last night after contracting swine flu.
The news came as the Scottish Government estimated there were more than 4,000 new cases of the virus last week and the UK government revealed 110,000 new cases in England and Wales over the same period.
Natasha Newman, who attends Gordonstoun public school in Moray, remains in a "very serious" condition in an intensive care unit in Athens after falling ill while holidaying on the island of Cephalonia.
Doctors in Greece said Ms Newman, 16, had contracted the illness in Britain, and did not seek treatment until her symptoms became critical.
The principal of Gordonstoun said the schoolgirl's family were going through a "horrible situation".
The girl is understood to have been hospitalised after developing a dangerously high temperature and severe breathing difficulties.
Ms Newman, from Highgate in north London, is being comforted by her parents, Julian Newman and Nikki Boughton, who are at her bedside.
She left London three weeks ago with her parents and sister Lauren for a month's holiday. It is not thought she had any underling health problems.
A spokeswoman for Mr Newman's company, J Newman Textiles, said: "This is a very distressing and worrying time. Our thoughts are with them."
Dr Zoe Beka, who is treating the teenager at Penteli Children's Hospital, said: "The outlook is very serious. She is receiving a number of different treatments including Tamiflu and antibiotics.
"There is no doubt that she contracted the illness while in London – but there was a delay in her receiving treatment.
"She carried on with her holiday."
Mark Pyper, principal of Gordonstoun, said: "This was a private family trip. Her parents told me what the situation was yesterday.
"Obviously we really hope she gets better, and soon, in what is a quite horrible situation for the family."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the family was receiving consular assistance.
In Scotland, figures released yesterday by Health Protection Scotland showed that about 4,300 people contracted swine flu last week.
The rate of GP consultations for flu-like symptoms has increased slightly over the period to 55 from 47 per 100,000.
About 10.6 per cent of community samples tested positive for swine flu – similar to the figure of 10 per cent last week.
Four people are continuing to receive treatment in hospital. They include Sharon Pentleton from Saltcoats, who remains in a "critical but stable" condition in a Swedish hospital. The 26-year-old, who is expecting her second child, was flown to Stockholm for specialist care last week.
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The figures show a slight increase in the number of people consulting their GP with flu symptoms, but the rate of people testing positive for H1N1 remains stable."
In England and Wales, 793 patients are being treated in hospital, down slightly on the figure of 840 last week.
Justin McCracken, chief executive of the Health Protection Agency, said the number of new cases last week could range from 60,000 to 160,000.
But Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said a number of indicators suggested the situation had peaked.
He said: "I think we are a little more confident we may be seeing a downturn in this flu at the moment."
REASSURANCE FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS
NEW mothers with swine flu are being urged to carry on breastfeeding, following confusion over the issue.
The Breastfeeding Network charity said it had received dozens of calls from worried women told to stop breastfeeding their babies by their GP or midwife.
Lesley Backhouse, the network's chairwoman of directors, said the charity understood experts were in "a difficult position" and were wary about giving "hard and fast" advice.
"However, what we know is that, at the moment, H1N1 is transmitted like normal winter flu – by sneezing and direct contact," she said.
"Mothers pass antibodies to infections they have had through their breastmilk, and so help the baby fight those infections.
"For a mother who is otherwise healthy to stop breastfeeding because she has swine flu is such a shame – for her and her baby.
"If a mother is ill, she should continue breastfeeding as normally as possible. If she becomes too ill to feed then expressing milk may still be possible.
"If the baby does become ill with swine flu then breastmilk makes an ideal food as it is easily digestible and will provide additional comfort for the baby too.
"Babies who are ill sometimes want lots of short feeds."
Ms Backhouse said babies who are breastfed are much less likely to need hospital treatment for severe chest infections than bottle-fed babies.
"What has also been shown in a recent study of almost 16,000 babies is that once babies stop being breastfed, this protection wears off."
Mothers taking antiviral drugs to combat swine flu should also carry on breastfeeding.
She said: "Breastfeeding mothers can continue feeding as normal while receiving antiviral treatment, because the amount in her milk is too low to affect the baby."
Last Updated: 30 July 2009 9:52 PM
All rights reserved ©2010 Johnston Press Digital Publishing
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Another oldie:
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Telegraph.co.uk
Swine flu: British girl fights for life in Greece (http://http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5937823/Swine-flu-British-girl-fights-for-life-in-Greece.html)
Natasha Newman, a British schoolgirl infected with swine flu while on a family holiday in Greece, is fighting for her life, according to reports.
By Ben Leach
Published: 8:56AM BST 30 Jul 2009
The 16-year-old is on a life-support machine after suffering lung damage and complications believed to be linked to swine flu, according to the Daily Express.
The teenager, known as Sasha, had been island hopping with her family but was admitted to hospital on the island of Cephalonia.
She was flown to the country's main children's hospital in Athens on Tuesday after her condition deteriorated and she became unconscious.
Her parents, businessman Julian Newman and theatrical agent Nikki Boughton, are at her bedside. Mr Newman said: "Natasha is very bad. She has chronic respiratory failure. She has complications like pneumonia."
Doctors at the Ayia Sofia children's hospital have described the teenager's condition as "very grave".
Dr Lina Sianidou, head of the intensive care unit, said: "There is no doubt that she is suffering from swine flu. She is in a critical condition and very much struggling.
"It is clear she had this new virus for at least eight days before she sought help and that has made her condition worse."
Another hospital doctor, who asked not to be named, said: "Her condition is very grave. She was in a very bad state, running a very high temperature when she got here. She developed acute breathing problems and eventually lost consciousness in Cephalonia."
The family left their £1 million house in Highgate, north London, three weeks ago for a month's holiday. Mr Newman owns north London company J Newman Textiles Ltd.
Natasha is a pupil at prestigious public school Gordonstoun in Elgin, Scotland, where Prince Charles attended. She has recently completed her GCSE exams and is a keen musician.
Medical authorities said they were not aware she has underlying health problems. Natasha is one of three swine flu victims in intensive care in Greece, authorities revealed.
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010
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Newman's battle with swine flu was also mentioned in the following article; bold emphasis added:
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The Independent
Soldier dies after contracting swine flu (http://http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/soldier-dies-after-contracting-swine-flu-1767028.html)
By Matt Dickinson, Press Association
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
A soldier was revealed today as the latest patient to die after getting swine flu.
Bombardier Lee Porter, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, died last week, two weeks after contracting the bug. He had underlying health problems.
The 30-year-old member of the Royal Artillery is thought to be the first UK serviceman to have fallen victim with the bug.
According to the Sun, Bombardier Porter died on Friday at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey.
That would make him the 28th person known to have died after getting swine flu in England.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm the death of Bombardier Lee Porter, who contracted Swine Flu two weeks ago, which complicated existing health problems.
"Our thoughts go out to his family, who were at his bedside at the time."
Friends paid tribute to him on social networking site Bebo.
Kelly Treacy wrote: "Lee, u were always so good to me and looked out for me like I was ur little sister. U were so kind to me and never let any1 give me any hassle, regardless of their rank."
Robert Deans added: "RIP, mate. You will be missed by all at 207 Bty. You were a great guy and full of life, Deansy."
And Marky said: "RIP lee, i dont think words can describe just how much that u will b missed. a one in a million guy!"
Elsewhere, a British schoolgirl was on a life support machine in a Greek hospital.
Natasha Newman, 16, from Highgate, north London, is being treated in Athens after falling ill on the island of Cephalonia.
Doctors at the intensive care unit of Penteli Children's Hospital described her condition as serious but stable.
Some 150,000 people in the UK have received the anti-viral drug Tamiflu via the National Pandemic Flu Service, which launched 10 days ago.
Bombardier Porter's family today thanked friends for the support they had shown and said in a brief statement issued through the Ministry of Defence in Northern Ireland that they wanted to be left alone to grieve "at this tragic time".
A total of 22 Britons are in quarantine worldwide because of swine flu and are receiving assistance, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said.
However, he said the true figure could be higher as not everyone would seek help from the Foreign Office.
©independent.co.uk
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It turns out that Mark Prigg, who wrote the above London Evening Standard article "British girl who survived swine flu is killed in US car crash (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=386210#p386005)," also reported on her former ordeal:
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London Evening Standard
London girl, 16, is critically ill with swine flu in Greece (http://http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23726053-london-girl-16-is-critically-ill-with-swine-flu-in-greece.do)
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor
30.07.09
London schoolgirl is fighting for her life in a Greek hospital after contracting swine flu while on holiday.
(http://http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/natasha-415x342.jpg)
Natasha Newman, right, was taken to hospital in Athens with swine flu while on holiday
Natasha Newman, 16, from Highgate, is on a life-support machine after suffering lung damage and other complications. Doctors this morning described her condition as "critical but stable".
The teenager was admitted to hospital on the island of Cephalonia but after her condition deteriorated and she became unconscious she was flown to Athens. Doctors at the Agia Sofia children's hospital say Natasha had swine flu for at least eight days before seeking help.
Her parents, Julian Newman and Nikki Boughton, were at her bedside. Mr Newman, a businessman, said: "Natasha is very bad. She has chronic respiratory failure. She has complications like pneumonia."
Dr Lina Sianidou, head of the intensive care unit, said: "There is no doubt that she is suffering from swine flu. She is in a critical condition and very much struggling. It is clear she had this new virus for at least eight days before she sought help and that has made her condition worse."
Natasha is believed to have developed a dangerously high temperature and severe breathing difficulties.
Although the family live in Highgate, Miss Newman is a pupil at Gordonstoun public school in Elgin, Scotland, where Prince Charles was a pupil.
A keen musician, she has recently completed her GCSEs and left London three weeks ago with her parents and sister Lauren for a month's holiday. She was not thought to have underlying health problems.
Her father owns north London company J Newman Textiles.
Natasha is one of three swine flu victims in intensive care in Greece.
News of her condition sparked panic on Cephalonia, where doctors at the General Prefectural Hospital in the main town Argostoli initially refused to treat her.
Tourists have been blamed for spreading the virus in Greece.
"Greece is particularly vulnerable because of its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and because this is the tourist season when so many start arriving from northern Europe," said one official.
Health minister Dimitris Avramopoulos has pledged to unveil an emergency plan.
© 2010 ES London Limited
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Apparently Natasha even became a bit of a poster girl for swine flu awareness! A somewhat less then fully observant reader stated:
"Who IS this woman in the stock photo being used to cover every story about swine flu? I am really sick of seeing her - can you use another photo please?"[/list]
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Comments (http://http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23726053-london-girl-16-is-critically-ill-with-swine-flu-in-greece.do) left for the above article, "London girl, 16, is critically ill with swine flu in Greece" (by Mark Prigg, 30.07.09, London Evening Standard):
- Sandra, London, 30/07/2009 11:22
Unfortunately Greece's public hygiene standards are quite low and in some cases third-world like (their notorious lavatories in which you are not allowed to flush down the drain the toilet paper but urged instead to bin it in baskets!).
Wish Natasha speedy recovery!
- Sheila, london uk, 30/07/2009 14:24
She was ill for eight days! It beggars belief that her dim parents took this long to seek treatment Oh the ignorance of the British public To my mind completely thick, never listen to their bodies, no wonder we have epidemics. I have no sympathy at all for fools like this
- Smb, London, UK, 30/07/2009 15:40
Who IS this woman in the stock photo being used to cover every story about swine flu? I am really sick of seeing her - can you use another photo please?
- Jackie, London, 31/07/2009 07:48
smb,the red-haired girl is the victim Natasha Newman,therefore the photo is relevant
- Jade, hampshire, 31/07/2009 16:18
im greek , and i dont see how she caught over in greece and i no we have poor lavatories
- Yank In Greece, Athens, Greece, 31/07/2009 16:32
Unfortunately, the Greek press is causing all this panic. Take this article which discusses Natasha's case and the doctor saying she contracted the virus in London.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_ar ... 009_109427 (http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100006_31/07/2009_109427)
Thousands die every year from the normal flu season and we don't see this type of paranoia.
Bravo to the Brits for their cool demeanor and not panic mongering like the Greeks.[/list]
- Andrew, Elgin, Scotland, 02/08/2009 11:16
Well, many people have severe and complicated health issues before they decide to go to the doctors because they believe that it will get better by itself like how it normally does. My father is practicing medicine himself and says that most of the patients he gets are in late stages of illnesses before they seek help. I used to go to school with Sasha and to see comments like "I have no sympathy at all for fools like this" really is quite disturbing on how little people sympathize with people who are in critical condition.
© 2010 ES London Limited
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And... just one more, 'cuz I happened to have it handy:
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The Times
July 31, 2009
Gordonstoun pupil Natasha Newman critically ill with swine flu in Athens (http://http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6734126.ece)
Melanie Reid
A pupil from Gordonstoun School was critically ill in a Greek hospital last night after falling ill with swine flu while on holiday.
Natasha Newman, 16, was in a "critical but stable" condition in Athens after becoming sick on the island of Cephalonia. Her parents, Julian Newman and Nikki Boughton, from London, are at her bedside.
Natasha, who attends the school in Elgin, Moray, is believed to have developed a dangerously high temperature and severe breathing difficulties.
Dr Lina Sianidou, head of the intensive care unit at the Agia Sofia Children's Hospital, said that her condition had worsened as she had not sought help for eight days. "There is no doubt that she is suffering from swine flu," the doctor said.
"She is in a critical condition and very much struggling. It is clear she had this new virus for at least eight days before she sought help."
A spokeswoman for her father's business, J. Newman Textiles, said: "This is a very distressing and worrying time. Our thoughts are with them."
Figures released by the Scottish government yesterday showed a slight increase in people contacting their doctor with flu-like illnesses in the past week but the numbers testing positive for H1N1 were similar to last week.
Health Protection Scotland estimates that 4,300 people have contracted H1N1 in the past week. Four people remain in hospital, including Sharon Pentleton, 26, a pregnant woman from Ayrshire who is being treated in Stockholm, Sweden.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary, said: "Today's figures show a slight increase in the number of people consulting their GP with flu symptoms but the rate of people testing positive for H1N1 remains stable."
© Times Newspapers Ltd 2010
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Switching back to the present, here's the obituary for the second girl from Sunrise Academy that died as a result of that car accident in Utah, and which ran in the Boston Herald two weeks ago:
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Gracie JAMES (http://http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonherald/obituary.aspx?n=gracie-james&pid=146261659)
JAMES Gracie, beloved daughter of Chris Bobel, James Lundy and Thomas Hartl, all of Arlington, Massachusetts, died on October 20, 2010 of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah three days earlier. She had just turned 17 years old. Gracie Christine James was born on September 29, 1993 in Whitewater, Wisconsin where she lived until moving to New Orleans just before her fourth birthday. After her father and mother separated in 1998, Chris and Gracie moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where they lived until relocating to Arlington, Massachusetts with Thomas in 2001. Gracie’s father, James, moved to Arlington in 2006. Until this fall, Gracie had been a student at Arlington High School. In mid-August, Gracie began attending a boarding school in Hurricane, Utah. On the morning of Sunday, October 20th, Gracie and fifteen other girls and school staff were enroute to a full day excursion in Arches Natural Park when the staff driver of their SUV lost control and the vehicle rolled over outside of Sevier, Utah. Found in a coma by rescue personnel, Gracie never regained consciousness. She died quietly on the evening of October 20 in the trauma unit of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, in the loving embrace of her three parents. At her parents’ request, on the evening of her death, individuals and small groups across the country and as far as Germany lit candles, listened to and sang Gracie’s favorite music and observed shared moments of reflective silence. Gracie was an unusually creative, intuitive, affectionate and sensitive young woman with a shy smile, beautiful eyes and a deep, feeling soul. She was an accomplished figure skater, an avid reader and a budding artist who created evocative and vibrant abstract works in soft pastels. But her main passion was writing. A brilliant and imaginative writer of both short and longer fiction and poetry, she aspired to a career in professional writing. Gracie’s gifts for caring, compassion and emotional connection touched everyone she met as shown by the outpouring of grief and support expressed by her peers at both her current and former schools. The day after her death, grieving students at Arlington High School wore green, symbolizing peace and honoring her memory. In addition to her heartbroken parents, Gracie is survived by her sister, Zoe Habel, age 7, whom she adored unabashedly, her “little” brother, age 16, Craig Hartl, with whom she shared a deep heart connection, her maternal grandmother, Sally Bobel, her paternal grandfather, Heinrich Hartl, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and her steadfast boyfriend, Sam Flavin. Gracie was predeceased by her paternal grandmother, Hedda Hartl, and her maternal grandfather, John Bobel. A memorial service and celabration of Gracie’s life will be held at the church where Gracie was both dedicated and later completed the “Coming of Age” program, First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist (Harvard Square, Cambridge) on Sunday, November 7th at 5:00 P.M. At the reception that follows, all are invited to contribute words, images and other remembrances on a Memory Wall. The family invites donations in lieu of flowers to the newly established “Gracie James Foundation” which will focus on closing the gaps in systems of support for local teens. Donations can be sent to 76 Paul Revere Road, Arlington, MA 02476.
Published in Boston Herald on October 27, 2010
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This same obituary, almost verbatim, was also published (http://http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-arlington/obituary.aspx?n=gracie-james&pid=146385997) in The Arlington Advocate from November 2 to November 8, 2010. This latter version also included a pic:
(http://http://mi-cache.legacy.com/legacy/images/Cobrands/WickedLocal-Arlington/Photos/CN12382855_114213.jpg)[/list]
Gracie Christine James
September 29, 1993 - October 20, 2010[/list]
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Guest Book entries (http://http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/bostonherald/guestbook.aspx?n=gracie-james&pid=146261659&cid=full) for Gracie James attached to the first obituary (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=386532#p386354) posted above (alternate link (http://http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/wickedlocal-arlington/guestbook.aspx?n=gracie-james&pid=146385997&cid=full) for the same set [attached to the another publication (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=386532#p386427) of said obit], in case access to one of these expires before the other one), #s 1-20:
October 27, 2010
My deepest sympathy to Chris and your family. My prayers are with you. A angel has gone to haven. What a young heart and beautiful woman.
Mary Schuffert-Schuerger, Lorain, Ohio
~ MARY Schuffert=Schuerger,
Lorain, Ohio[/list][/list]
October 28, 2010
Very sorry for your loss.
BHSA[/list][/list]
October 28, 2010
As I read of gracie's life, I see that she, as many of the young lives that part this world was a grounded "Angel". Peace be with Gracie's family and friends.
Denise Steinbrunner Bartlome
October 28, 2010
As I read about Gracie's life, I see that she, like other young lives that leave us to early was a grounded angel....Peace be with all Gracie's family and friends.
Denise Steinbrunner Bartlome, Avon, Ohio
October 28, 2010
With deepest sympathy
~ Maria DiFrancesco-Szarek,
Avon Lake, Ohio[/list][/list]
October 28, 2010
Chrissy, my deepest sympathy to you in the death of your beloved daughter. It has been many years since I've seen you, but I know you were a wonderful loving mother and her gifts were fostered and supported by you. Prayers to you. Mrs. Bowersox
Avon, Ohio[/list][/list]
October 29, 2010
MY DEEPEST SYMPATHY CHRIS AND FAMILY MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU ALL VIKI CAMPBELL(KOROGIANOS) VERMILION OHIO
October 29, 2010
Dear Chrisi,
I am so sorry for your loss. Words cannot express my heartfelt sympathy for you and your entire family.
~ Chris DeNicola-Brletic,
Crown Point, Indiana[/list][/list]
October 29, 2010
After reading what was written about Gracie I can see that she is priceless ruby and will forever be remembered. Our prayers are with you Chrisi and your family. Gladys Mercado and Sam Salas
Lorain, Ohio[/list][/list]
October 30, 2010
My deepest sympathy to you and your family in the lost of your daughter,I know how you must be feeling,I lost my youngest son year half ago.she will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her.take care.
Bargersville, Indiana[/list][/list]
October 31, 2010
Chrisi,
I'm so sad to hear of your lose. My heart breaks for you. Neither time or distance really dims the light of true friendship and I truly cherish ours. Please hold the memories and times you shared with Gracie as a true blessing. My thougths and prayers go out to you and to all who were blessed to be apart of Gracie's life. Sounds like she lived life large...must have taken after her Mother...in a very short time she was able to touch many lives and she will be missed across the country. May you find peace and calm somewhere amid this storm. Our prayers are with you. Love ya, Paul & Sharon (Pankratz) Taramarcaz Gunnison, CO
Gunnisonc, Colorado[/list][/list]
November 01, 2010
Dear Jim,
We are so sorry for this great loss in your life. Try to remember her in her smiling ways and happy times.
There are no words to say other than we are sorry for you and your family. Our prayers are with you.
Bob, Susan and Brent Johnson and Noella Demers
November 01, 2010
Chris,
Such a tragedy for Gracie, you and your family. We are so very sorry.
Elyria, Ohio[/list][/list]
November 02, 2010
Chris and Thomas,
I am so sorry to hear about your tragic loss. My thoughts are with you. Lauren
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
November 02, 2010
Your devastating loss of Gracie is unimaginable. Know that I am mourning with you in your sorrow. I will always remember her smile, free spirit and kind heart. With love and prayers.
Mansfield, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
November 04, 2010
For Gracie who will always be with us in our hearts.
Charlotte, North Carolina[/list][/list]
November 05, 2010
Dear Chrissy and Thomas: Jill and I want to extend our deepest condolences to you and the family. We know your loss is immeasurable, and the void left in your heart can never be filled. Please know that we wish you peace and comfort from those who loved her and the wonderful memories that were her gift to you all. With love, Jill and Jan Sacks
November 07, 2010
My mind is filled with memories of laughter, beauty, comradery, and whispered confidences between two preteen friends. Was it just a few years ago that Gracie and Sarah played soccer together, made up funny words and dialog, made each other laugh for hours on end? Two lovely girls brimming with the joys of young girlhood with womanhood a near yet shadowy presence. They would tumble downstairs together at supper time, share a tree perch, sneak through a fence to their favorite pastry shop,
gently snuggling under their blankets for a delicious sleep in after an all nighter-sleepover, wistfully hugging good-bye at pick-up time with the promise of future adventures lurking behind their soft, smiling eyes. I yearn for another visit from this beautiful girl who graces us with such endearing and enduring memories. And I comfort myself that although we will never see her on Earth again, she remains among us, in our hearts, nestled and blanketed warmly and lovingly.
Arlington, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
November 07, 2010
I grew up in Somerville so even though I never knew her well I spent a lot of time in Arlington at the Unitarian church. I remember once I was staying with Clara and it was Gracie's birthday and I ended up crashing with them in the ice skating rink. All these flittering memories of the small times we crossed path flood my mind, and I wish I had had the opportunity to get to know her better. She was such a wonderful and it's devastating that she left this earth so early.
Somerville, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
November 08, 2010
It is unimaginable, from all perspectives. I do not know you, but know one of Gracie's friends. I write because I also know. In my thoughts...
Lucy, Torri's Mom
Hull, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
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Another obituary:
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The Boston Globe
OBITUARIES
Gracie James, whose writing gleamed with insights; at 17 (http://http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/11/05/gracie_james_whose_writing_gleamed_with_insights_at_17/)
By Bryan Marquard
Globe Staff / November 5, 2010
(http://http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2010/11/04/1288924040_8364/300h.jpg)
Gracie James had an affinity for nature's soothing presence.
With a poet's unsparing insight, Gracie James contemplated the border between hope and despair.
"There is a fine line between happiness and depression, doubt and trust, acceptance and regret," she wrote a year and a half ago, when she was 15 and a student at Arlington High School. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that time is the medicine for countless situations."
Healed and sometimes harmed, she could sense redemption in a casual gesture, a benediction in a subtle approval.
"Maybe you can find it in the smallest things," she wrote. "Like a smile or a tear, or a simple nod of the head, demonstrating understanding, saying, 'I know what you mean,' because that's all we want to hear."
Three weeks after turning 17, Miss James was a passenger in a sport utility vehicle with others enrolled in a Utah boarding school for teenage girls trying to regain their emotional bearings. Sitting in front, she adjusted the radio, setting a soundtrack for their ride. On the way to Arches National Park in the southeastern part of the state, the vehicle went off Interstate 70 near Sevier and rolled over, police said. Miss James suffered severe head injuries and died three days later, on Oct. 20, in Provo.
Precocious as a writer, Miss James fared well in contests and exhibited natural abilities as a figure skater in early adolescence before turning to alcohol and marijuana in high school to ease her struggle with depression. At the Sunrise Residential Treatment Program in Hurricane, Utah, she responded quickly to the therapy, said her mother, Chris Bobel of Arlington.
"It's tragic enough that our daughter was killed at 17," Bobel said. "It's even more tragic that she was turning her life around, that she had recommitted to living a healthy life that she could be proud of. It's devastating."
At Arlington High, Miss James could create quickly, composing a poem in class and slipping it into a friend's hands minutes later in the hallway.
"When I read her poetry, I could hardly believe that she could write it because it was so good," said Nora Blake, a friend and classmate. "She would leave me letters, and she would write them the way she talked to you, so you could hear her voice."
Miss James had written so much, so poignantly, that the eulogy at her memorial service Sunday will be composed mostly from her prose and poems.
"She wrote this wonderful poem about accepting death to my mother when she was dying," said Miss James's stepfather, Thomas Hartl. "It expressed emotions the whole family was struggling with, and she put it in such beautiful words. I read it and just cried because it was so, so beautiful. It made my mother cry, but they were good tears."
In the poem, "Hedda," named for her grandmother, Miss James wrote in part:
Remember everything you've touched:
The hands of those you love,
Tears of the sky on your face,
The hearts you've soothed and comforted.[/list]
Grace Christine James was born in Whitewater, Wis. She was named Grace after a relative who played a significant role in her mother's life. In an autobiography, Miss James wrote: "Christina is my mom's name so she gave me the middle name Christine. . . . My last name is my dad's first name, James, instead of his last name, Lundy, which I suppose is unusual in American culture."
Her parents parted when she was young.
After Bobel married Hartl, who is from Germany, European trips helped make Miss James worldly, "but she was always pretty modest about that," her mother said. "She was really very connected to her town. She loved Arlington, she loved her home."
Miss James was 7 when she moved to Arlington, which soon became home to her mother, stepfather, father, and also to her 16-year-old stepbrother, Craig Hartl, and her younger sister, Zoe Habel, born when Gracie was 9.
With Miss James's poems, essays, short stories, and journals, "it felt like she was writing beyond her years," her mother said. "In the metaphors she would conjure, she was bold and unafraid to take risks."
Figure skating provided respite from the emotions of life, where friendships Miss James valued could also overwhelm.
Gracie, Bobel added, "had this capacity to connect with people that was rooted in her almost precocious empathy. Because of that, she was also very vulnerable. She took relationships seriously, she took friendships very seriously, so it cut both ways. A cross word would really hurt."
In addition to her mother, father, stepfather, sister, and stepbrother, Miss James leaves her grandmother Sally (Ferraro) Bobel of Lorain, Ohio, and her grandfather Heinrich Hartl of Hanau, Germany.
Family and friends will gather to celebrate her life at 5 p.m. Sunday in First Parish Cambridge, the Unitarian Universalist church in Harvard Square.
The accident damaged Gracie's brain in ways that could not be reversed. Her family asked doctors to remove her from life support on Oct. 20, and word spread around the world through the family's circles of friends. Many paused at that moment to listen to Miss James's favorite song, Death Cab for Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," in which the singer quietly offers: "If there's no one beside you/When your soul embarks/Then I'll follow you into the dark."
The next day, Bobel said, many of Miss James's friends attended Arlington High wearing green, her favorite color, because it evokes nature's soothing presence. Friends plan to don green again for Sunday's service.
"I used to think I knew what love was," she wrote at 15, "but I've realized that love is the most complex sensation in the world, partly because it's a mix of everything there is to feel. Finding a definition for it could take a lifetime, and in the end it's still only a theory."
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Gracie James is also mentioned in this article on Arlington Boys' Soccer. Video news clip and five pics at the link; bold emphasis added in the article below:
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Arlington Patch
SPORTS
Nee Saves the Day for Arlington Boys' Soccer (http://http://arlington.patch.com/articles/nee-saves-the-day-for-arlington-boys-soccer)
Sophomore backup comes in for penalty kicks and makes game-winning save.
By John Waller | November 8, 2010
It defined bittersweet.
With starting goalie Sam Flavin having to leave the field after overtime to go speak at his girlfriend's funeral, sophomore keeper Kelan Nee stepped in for the penalty kicks Sunday in the preliminary round of the Division 2 North sectional and made the game-winning save.
"I was pretty scared, actually," a still-stunned Nee said of entering the game at its most critical point. "I didn't want to let my teammates down."
Nee's diving stop clinched the No. 20 seed Arlington High boys' soccer team's 1-0 upset win over No. 13 Lynn Classical (7-6-4) at Manning Field in Lynn. Arlington (9-8-2) advances to face No. 4 Pentucket (13-3-2) at 6:30 p.m. today at Haverhill Stadium in Haverhill.
The game, originally scheduled for 4 p.m., was moved to 2 p.m., so that Flavin and his teammates could attend his girlfriend's funeral without missing the game. Flavin's girlfriend, 17-year-old Gracie James, of Arlington, died last month due to injuries sustained in an SUV rollover accident in Utah.
After both teams made four of five penalty kicks, Arlington sophomore Nathan Lobel scored first in the sudden-death portion. Nee then dove to his left to corral a shot by Lynn's Walter Cifuentes. The first-year goalie then casually walked toward his charging teammates.
"I didn't know what to do," he said.
Arlington took an early 1-0 lead in the penalty kicks, as after a goal by sophomore Fernando Cuervo-Torello, Lynn's German Canales shot the ball wide.
The teams then traded two goals, with senior captains Christian Fischer and Nick Coleman converting for Arlington. Junior Matt Wah hit the crossbar on Arlington's next attempt, before teammate Sam Riveria scored to help force sudden death.
Dammy Dada was in goal for Lynn. He made a number of sensational saves during the game but failed to thwart all but one of Arlington's penalty kicks, despite guessing right on a few attempts.
"He really kept them in the game," Arlington coach Lance Yodzio said. "He must have robbed three or four goals."
Dada made diving stops on close-range shots from Arlington's Chris Hamblin and Ryan Salocks in the second half.
In the first half, Cuervo-Torello had a great look off a corner, with Dada out of position, but a Lynn defender headed the ball out near the far post to maintain the scoreless tie.
Flavin had two key saves late in the second half, on a 35-yard free kick by Canales and on a corner.
Fischer anchored Arlington's defense, with Adam Long and Graham McInnis at the wings and Hamblin at stopper.
Arlington senior captain Trevor O'Brien-Jones left the game in the first half with a possible concussion.
Copyright © 2010 Patch.
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Its nice reading all the positive support Gracie is getting from family and friends. She had such a positive effect on so many people. Thanks for keeping this thread going and keeping us all updated on the progress of the events in the aftermath of this tragedy, Ursus.
...
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FIRSTT OF ALLL i attendedd sunrise "residential treatment center" and i can tell you from first hand experience that it is not a "tough loove" program or a good place to send kids. It is a horrible torture zone which only makes peoplee worse. I am not surprised that one of those ignorant mean "staff" members killed TWO poor innocent girls. I was beyond miserable there and so was everybody that i knew from there. The staff members are all horrible people trying to lock up innocent girls for expressing who they are. Sunrise should be 100% blamed for this and for the depression that girls have after being there and all the other trouble girls get into after being there.
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Its nice reading all the positive support Gracie is getting from family and friends. She had such a positive effect on so many people. Thanks for keeping this thread going and keeping us all updated on the progress of the events in the aftermath of this tragedy, Ursus.
You are quite welcome. All kids that went to programs and who die young, long before their time, and for whatever reason, should have some extra airplay here. IMO. I only wish that I had the energy and focus to be more consistent about it. But, I do what I can...
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Fwiw, the same obituary (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=388347#p386354) for Gracie James that was published in The Boston Herald (October 27, 2010) and The Arlington Advocate (November 2-8, 2010) ... was also published (http://http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=146306877) in The Boston Globe on October 31, 2010. For some reason I missed it. (This is not to be confused with the special additional obit published in the Globe five days later; see above (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=31501&p=386607#p386607).)
Although access to the Herald and the Advocate Guest Books has by now expired, some generous person has apparently paid for the Globe Guest Book to remain open 'till Oct. 31, 2011. Note that entries to all three of these guest books have been pooled together by Legacy.com.
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Guest Book (http://http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/bostonglobe/guestbook.aspx?n=gracie-james&pid=146306877) for Gracie James, continued, #s 21-?:
November 11, 2010
Gracie, no words can begin to describe what you meant to me. Though we were strangers during the hardest two weeks of my life you were by my side. If it wasn't for you I would've never been discharged from brighton. We were strangers at first but by thr time you left we were great friends. I miss you and you and your family will forever be in my prayers. As for now you will be my beautiful angel.
Hanover, Massachusetts[/list][/list]
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