An SUV full of kids was traveling on State Rout 78, a busy highway near Vista in California, when luggage fell off the back of their car.  A 16-year-old girl, who was apparently the driver, got out along with a 10-year-old boy to try and retrieve it.  Both were struck by a Nissan sedan and pronounced dead on the scene.  Four other kids were also in the car and watched it happen.  It’s a tragic story that didn’t need to be.

I think we can all understand the temptation to retrieve lost property.  But no amount of luggage is worth your life.  Police say you should pull over to the side of the road and call authorities, so that a traffic officer can respond to retrieve it safely.

Let this story also be a reminder to the rest of us to attach all material securely.  People vastly underestimate the wind forces that items on the roof or in the back of a truck can face when going down the highway.  But if you’re traveling at 70 or so miles per hour, and there’s a 15 or 20mile per hour natural wind, thats the equivalient of an EF 0 tornado.