Girl trying to save sick pet dies in stolen car crash
Sometimes, the news I find is just sad.
A 15-year-old girl died Tuesday in a dramatic, ill-advised, effort to save her cancer-stricken dog from euthanasia.
Taylor Mae Stinchcomb, 15, died trying to prevent her dog from being euthanized.
According to an article in the Chicago Sun Times, Taylor Mae Stinchcomb, 15, stole her family’s 2003 Dodge minivan and fled her Chicago-area home with her ill dog, Romulus, and a female friend, also 15.
When Taylor became too upset to drive, her unnamed friend took the wheel. Moments later, the friend lost control of the vehicle and crashed into several trees and a telephone pole.
The dog was thrown from the vehicle and died immediately. Taylor died of her injuries at a local hospital. The driver escaped almost without a scratch.
Drugs or alcohol were not a factor in the crash, police said.
Police are not sure where the girls were headed or what they planned to do.
Taylor picked the dog out while visiting an animal shelter on her 13th birthday.
A high school freshman, Taylor is survived by two sisters, a brother and her parents, Bill and LeeAnn Stinchcomb.
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95 comments Add your comment
connie
June 24th, 2011
8:02 am
Prayers for the family and the driver of the van when it crashed.
brad
June 24th, 2011
8:06 am
DAL, could you be a bigger prick?
Bill
June 24th, 2011
8:13 am
In some states, taking a motor vehicle without permission is different from auto theft.
patti kendrick
June 24th, 2011
8:15 am
Her heart was in the right place. To some people, their dog is part of the family. My sympathy goes out to her family and friends.
retnek
June 24th, 2011
8:21 am
@ brad….No, I think DAL is about as big a one as they come. It makes you sick to think there are heartless idiots like that literate enough to post in an online forum, but apparently there are. He/she must be one sick, miserable person.
"Took"
June 24th, 2011
8:32 am
Why couldn’t they just say she “took” the family minivan…why say “stole?” Geez.
Babs
June 24th, 2011
8:40 am
DamnAnimalLovers – what a complete ass you are!
better than you will ever be
June 24th, 2011
8:46 am
@DamnAnimalLovers-I can see you were likely abused and molested and you likely are doing the same. No one has any regard for you and you serve no purpose here. You will never be worth anything here so you choose to display your obvious dysfunctional upbringing by your words. That poor dog is better than you are even though it has died. It’s obvious you were never loved so your statement of loving ppl more is quite the oxymoron as you would never say that if you even knew what love was. God still loves you and every other ignorant, negative idiot on here, but obviously he is the ONLY one who does. You are the joke in the meaning of life and love.
JT
June 24th, 2011
8:56 am
ditto DamnAnimalLovers………
ChrisW
June 24th, 2011
9:02 am
DamnAnimalLovers – you are a complete idiot. She had compassion for her dog. She loved him. It’s people like you that make the world a disgusting place. Everyone knows there is something seriously wrong with people that don’t like animals.