OP/ED: Open letter to residents from aunt of woman killed in Saturday's accident

By Contributor

Dear Readers,

This is a message from the aunt of the beautiful girl who was in the fatal April 20 accident in Castlegar.

I would like you to read this, and have it in your mind the next time (God forbid) something of this nature happens.

Facebook is an amazing site, that can be used in so many brilliant ways. That being said, it can also be used to devastate people. I understand that after learning the name of someone that's life has been taken-it's natural to post status updates, and comments. It's how a lot of people deal with their grief.

That being said, I would like you to know that close family had not been notified that this event had occurred, and very sadly found out via Facebook posts. The media highly respects the confidentiality until police have released a name publicly.

This should be held by the public as well. If something tragic has happened, wait until the media has posted the name. It was a devastating, horrible reality that family members found out about the death of a beautiful, loved person on a Facebook post. Respect the family, Respect the person!

Sincerely,

(Name withheld pending release of victim's name)