Newcastle Morning Herald: Four teenagers died in a horrific car crash last night, a few kilometres from their homes and one kilometre from their high school. It is believed the car in which they were travelling spun out of control on the wet road and smashed into a power pole. The teens all died at the scene.

No, it didn’t happen, but I think sometimes that if it had, the news item might have begun like that, with a giant picture of the wreckage, of the little car, if not split in two then wrapped around the pole. Our bodies out of sight for the sensitivities of the readers and our families. There would be comments from shocked people on the street. Maybe even from friends (it’s a small town........

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