15-year-old girl, her sick dog killed after taking family minivan
GRAYSLAKE) Distraught that her parents were considering putting down the family dog, a 15-year-old north suburban girl took the dog and the family minivan early Tuesday, leading to a crash that left her and her pet dead.
Taylor Mae Stinchcomb of Gurnee and a 15-year-old girlfriend took off in the vehicle shortly after midnight Tuesday morning. At some point, too upset to continue driving, Stinchcomb had her friend take the wheel, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s office.
That girl then lost control of the minivan in an unincorporated area near Grayslake, striking several trees and a utility pole, killing Stinchcomb and her dog, a release from the sheriff’s office said.
At about 12:45 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the rollover crash on Almond Road about a quarter-mile south of Route 120, the release said.
A passerby made the original 911 call, but was unsure of the exact location of the crash, sheriff’s police Lt. Chris Thompson said. The 15-year-old driver of the minivan, “though distraught and incredibly upset,” was able to provide the exact location of the crash to 911 operators.
According to a preliminary investigation, the 2003 Dodge minivan was traveling northbound on Almond at a high rate of speed when the girl apparently lost control. The vehicle left the roadway, rolling over and striking several trees and a utility pole on the east side of Almond Road.
Stinchcomb was trapped and later extricated by Grayslake Fire and Rescue. She was breathing and talking prior to being transported to Condell Hospital, where she apparently died from multiple internal injuries, according to sheriff’s police.
Sheriff’s investigators said Stinchcomb was distraught that her family was considering putting down the family dog, which was suffering from cancer.
The girls took the minivan from Stinchcombs parents without permission, sheriff’s police said. Stinchcomb was originally driving, but later became upset and asked her friend to drive.
That girl turned south on Almond, drove to Casey Road and turned around, heading back north on Almond when the accident occurred.
The driver, though distraught emotionally, was treated by paramedics at the scene and did not require hospitalization, Thompson said.
Charges could be forthcoming against the girl, whose name was being withheld because of her age.
“This case is absolutely heartbreaking,” Lake County Undersheriff Charles Fagan said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of both girls involved in this incident.”
Sheriff’s investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the accident occurred, but said drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor.
An autopsy is scheduled for later Tuesday at the Lake County Coroner’s office.
Makes me rethink were I put my car keys when I goto bed.....thinking at my bedside is better then on the counter downstairs.
Hopefully my kids will have had to deal w/this by then. By the time I was 15 I had gone to funerals for my grandfathers, grandmother, and my great aunt/uncle, and a few other distant family members/family friends that were close to my grandparents. Also had my childhood pet taken to a farm after he had run away...again...and not come back for multiple weeks. I knew all to well about loss and suffering.
Tragic, to be sure. Parents... wow, really feel for those folks. Distraught. Something incredibly terrible. I can not imagine being woken in the middle of the night or early morning by a telephone call or someone knocking on the door. It's probably my greatest fear already, and my kids haven't even begun to exercise individual responsibility (although that changes this coming fall). Step two.
So I wouldn't even know what kind of condolence I could personally offer those people, if I had to. I feel for them and don't wish this sort of thing on anyone.
But they're not here.
15 is a reasonable age. Ordinarily.
You can have a job. Pay taxes. Get a learner's permit and, hopefully, by this age, you've been educated on sex and death. And animals. Some biology, some zoology.
And by now, some older same-sex companion, be it friend, parent, weird relative, whatever, has taken you to the side and let you know about the hormones and other chemicals kicking in throughout your mind and body as you cruise through the puberty landscape. And that those things will, once in awhile, make you think of some really stupid shit. And when that happens, talk to someone.
Ordinarily.
I say that because... why did this child not understand that the dog was dying, or would be dead shortly, and that the parents were intending to do what EVERYONE else does with a sick pet.
Where was she going? Who was she going to see? Is there some 'FARM' somewhere she could bring her beloved pet to where it would be alright and live out the remainder of it's life without worry or pain?
I know she was distraught.... not thinking straight....
But I gotta sorta agree. WHERE was she planning on going?
.
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America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe
"Possibly, but it's not to early to start loading ammo!" - Loki
I know she was distraught.... not thinking straight....
But I gotta sorta agree. WHERE was she planning on going?
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┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐
America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe
"Possibly, but it's not to early to start loading ammo!" - Loki
That's beyond sad. The parents must be sick w/grief.
and the guilt of the other 15 year old, that took over driving because her friend couldnt drive anymore.. somethign tells me she didn't know how to.. just sad all around
Makes me rethink were I put my car keys when I goto bed.....thinking at my bedside is better then on the counter downstairs.
Hopefully my kids will have had to deal w/this by then. By the time I was 15 I had gone to funerals for my grandfathers, grandmother, and my great aunt/uncle, and a few other distant family members/family friends that were close to my grandparents. Also had my childhood pet taken to a farm after he had run away...again...and not come back for multiple weeks. I knew all to well about loss and suffering.
Not only did she die, but the dog was killed and not in a humane way. I'm not a parent, but I've been 15 years old before and knew about terminal illnesses and death at that age. Some parents would say they want to keep their children shielded from the harsh side of life, but you do the kids a disservice by giving them the Disney version. Both of my parents were dead long before I turned 15 and was given the soft shoe explanation of death: "they're resting", "mommy and daddy are in the clouds" or the overused "they've gone home to Jesus". I found out on my own what death is and didn't appreciate the bullsh*t attempt at easing my pain (which it didn't) of losing them.
Just tell kids the TRUTH and cut the nonsense, then you won't have cases of kids going off the deep end like this poor girl did.
"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." Abraham Lincoln
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