A terrible day

Today Cam found out via text and Facebook that a friend of his passed away over the weekend. They had been friends since fifth grade. Sam, the boy who was killed, was going to school in Utah and died when the car he was riding in crashed into a guard rail, which tore his passenger door off. I don't know what happened next but he died of his injuries at the scene.

All day long Cam kept getting texts from people asking if he had heard from Sam lately and Cam had to pass the news along, asking them to call him so they wouldn't find out via text.

We're all heartbroken, not just over the loss of Sam, who was a sweet, smart and imaginative young man, but also for his family. I keep thinking of his poor mom, getting the news while she's two thousand miles away.

A Tragedy

A boy who goes to school with my youngest son has been arrested for killing his mother. According to this article in the Baltimore Sun the family had a long history of abuse. Both parents accused each other of abuse in court, with the father trying to get a restraining order against the mother. The father was also in trouble for beating the boy with a rod when the child was six years old, because the boy was crying and wanted a bandaid.

Cam says the boy was extremely upset because his girlfriend dumped him last week. Neighbors say fighting escalated between the mother and the boy.

Schoolmates of the teen have commented on other blogs saying that he did run away from home but was brought home again by the police and that he was still being abused by both of his parents.

I don't really know, I only have a few facts at my disposal, but it does appear as though social services could have done more, going all the way back to when the teen and his younger brother were only two and five. When the family has an "extensive file" and then a member of the family kills another, something went badly wrong.

I hope whoever is taking care of the younger brother, who also goes to Old Mill, is doing a better job and is working very hard to keep him safe and get him some counseling.