Letter: Two sets of families and friends are mourning

If I could change one thing in the world, it would be that people imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes, then act and speak accordingly.

On April 6, Andrew Luttrell did something that every driver has done. He looked down while driving, he was distracted. The only difference is that it resulted in an accident and someone died. Andrew later committed suicide — leaving two sets of families and friends in our community mourning.

Andrew had a Facebook account and surely read some horrible comments online when the articles were published. His personal information was revealed by a poster in a private group. This is bullying at its worst.

Any one of us could have been in Andrew’s shoes. What if those unkind words were the last thing echoing through Andrew’s mind as he threw himself from that bridge? I hope this changes our perspective and causes us all to think. Words hurt. It’s easy to judge and cut another person down when we don’t have to look them in the eyes.

I sincerely hope that if we are ever unfortunate enough to be in Andrew’s shoes, that the world will be kinder to us than they were to Andrew.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Letter: Two sets of families and friends are mourning."