This week, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office chose not to charge former Kansas City Chiefs player Rich Baldinger in the tragic death of a Grain Valley woman. The traffic collision was ruled an accident. The decision is tidy, clear and concise.
It is everything but a conclusion.
Let’s be clear – this columnist isn’t qualified to determine if Baldinger or the driver of the other vehicle was at fault. For the purposes of this column, that isn’t relevant. On a human and spiritual level, our hearts should go out to both parties. Baldinger and the family of Jerry Walters both lost unique, irreplaceable facets of their lives. That’s the real story.
Logic says we should first place our attention of the Walters’ devastating loss. However, let’s talk about Baldinger first.
You’re driving along on a late spring afternoon, presumably enjoying life, when your vehicle slams into another automobile. Your heartbeat quadruples once you absorb the fact someone is seriously injured. A nuclear weapon seemingly detonates in your gut when you later learn someone in the other automobile dies.
Try living with that. Fortunately, the vast majority of us will never have that memory branded into our psyche. Baldinger won’t be able forget what occurred. He was directly involved in an event that led to death. Add to the fact that Baldinger was not injured and you have an incident that seems grossly unfair.
Simply, Baldinger will be able to put the death on a shelf, but he can never make the memory go away. That’s a tragedy. A flashing moment will forever alter Baldinger’s personality. At the same time, it’s apparent the psyches of the Walters family have also been altered.
Marilyn Walters, the woman who dies in the traffic accident, is never coming home.
Try living with that. One moment you’re riding along a stretch of pavement on your way to the future and the next moment the person you’re talking to, someone you love, is seriously injured. Later they pass away, leaving you to replay the moment like a broken record. The Earth will continue to rotate, but your life is effectively placed on pause.
With the explosion of mass media, we get daily updates on the fragile nature of life. We get news updates on celebrity deaths, violent local killings, horrific traffic accidents and natural passings of individuals famous and ordinary. Sometimes we pay tribute, sometimes we let folks fade into history. Rarely we hear the story of tomorrow and what it means.
Rich Baldinger and the Walters family have to get to tomorrow. Let’s wish them well.
