The newspaper industry has certainly been in something of a downward spiral of late, but at least there is some good news. (No, it doesn’t involve saving money by switching to GEICO.) According to a news story in the Charleston Daily Mail, newspapers played a crucial life-saving role in a traffic accident over the weekend:
[Billy] Poff, 51, of Charleston was westbound on Interstate 64 near the Oakwood Road exit when his truck collided with a vehicle coming the wrong way about 3:15 a.m. Saturday.
The driver of the other vehicle, Adriana Bailey, 27, of Madison died in the crash.
Seven bundles of Saturday Gazette-Mails packed into the cab of Poff’s 1974 Toyota pickup cushioned him from the tremendous impact, investigators said.
The bundles had 25 newspapers each.
“The newspapers are pretty much what saved him,” said Sgt. Shawn Williams of the Charleston Police Department’s traffic division.
Let’s see your fancy-schmancy websites and PDF editions try that!
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