Tragedies are cruel reminder

Two tragic accidents in the area over the past few days, both almost freaky in nature, represent a painful reminder of how quickly life can be taken away.

The first occurred Saturday when a tractor-trailer crossed the median on Route 22, between the Cresson and Gallitzin exits, and killed Gary J. and Tracey Smith of New Bethlehem.

Two days later, Bedford County residents Christopher Lee Lape, 36, and Connie Lynn Feathers, 32, were killed on Interstate 99 when the motorcycle they were riding collided head-on with a car driven by Dorothy Ann Lindemuth, 79, of Brockway.

Police say Lindemuth's vehicle was traveling north in the southbound lanes.

We cannot imagine the shock that must have preceded both accidents.

One minute the Smith family was innocently returning on Route 22 from a vacation in Gettysburg. The next minute the two parents are dead, and their surviving 8-year-old son is being taken by medical helicopter to Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital.

Sam Smith remains in critical but stable condition.

The odds of something like this happening are off the chart. How many millions have traveled Route 22 and not had a tractor-trailer come at them from the other side of the divided highway - particularly in non-winter months?

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Gregory D. Nale of Ruffs Dale, Westmoreland County, lost control and entered the westbound lanes, police say. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and it could be weeks if not longer before the investigation is complete.

Even when those conclusions are reached, it doesn't change the fact that a family has been torn apart.

Here's hoping other members of the Smith family will be able to look after Sam, and that the young boy will be able to overcome a true example of how cruel life can be.

The Bedford County accident is actually the second multiple-fatal in the last three years involving a vehicle heading the wrong way on I-99.

In both cases, the fatal accidents involved vehicles heading north in the southbound lanes in the area around the Cessna exit.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 23, 2006, Jeremy Grimes of Bedford, then 23, crashed into a van carrying a family of five from Canada who were en route to Florida. Grimes was driving the wrong direction on I-99. Three members of the Canadian family were killed.

We hope the police investigation into Monday's crash will provide more answers, including what led up to Lindemuth driving the wrong way on I-99.

Limited-access highways are designed to help ensure vehicles don't wind up going in the wrong direction of travel.

It's troubling to see two fatal accidents involving cars heading north in the southbound lanes in the same area. PennDOT and state police should look into whether improvements or better signage are needed to try to prevent another tragedy.

People are taught to drive defensively, but sometimes that's not enough.

When a vehicle is traveling the wrong direction on limited-access highways, such as I-99 and Route 22, the results often are tragic, as the loss of four lives from accidents over the past few days attests.