Having compassion for victims of tragedy

It’s difficult to imagine a story that evokes more visceral pain than last week’s drownings of a woman and her son.

It’s difficult to imagine a story that evokes more visceral pain than last week’s drownings of a pregnant Douglass Township, Berks County, woman and her 9-year-old son.

Each of us can imagine being in the situation that befell Pamela V. Snyder, 31, and her son, Preston Dray, 9. They were driving along just 2 miles from their home Thursday when an overwhelming storm deluged Douglass roads. Their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters as the Manatawny Creek swelled on to Pine Forge Road.

The tragedy was amplified by some of the circumstances involved. Snyder was on the phone with first responders for several minutes as her car became inundated with water.

Rescuers found it impossible to get to the vehicle in time to rescue the mother and son. All this took place just days before Snyder was supposed to have a baby shower for the daughter she was expecting.

This is the stuff of our worst nightmares. It’s no wonder the story gained national attention.

This is hardly an occasion to blame anyone. The situation in Douglass Township that day became so dire, so quickly, there was not much to be done. Astonishingly, more than 6 inches of rain fell there in the span of just two hours or so.

Roads all over the community were flooded, and Snyder found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It’s hard to comprehend just how agonizing this must have been for everyone involved, including would-be rescuers.

What’s appropriate now is an outpouring of love for those directly affected by this tragedy and the larger community still reeling from the deaths and from the serious damage the storm inflicted on the township’s infrastructure.

As so often happens when tragedies take place in our area, people are rising to the occasion. Friends, family and strangers from across the country have donated tens of thousands of dollars collectively over three different fundraisers created on the GoFundMe.com website on behalf of Snyder, Dray and their family. One of those efforts had a goal of $10,000.

In just four days it had raised a total of about $70,000 from 1,800 people. Other fundraisers were seeing similar results.

Meanwhile other charitable efforts were being launched in response to the tragedy. One of the most touching is a food drive conducted by Boyertown Area Multi-Service. Preston Dray once organized a food drive of his own to help the organization’s efforts to feed the hungry.

The agency now is collecting food in his honor with plenty of support from the Boyertown community. The drive is scheduled to go on through Aug. 18, with plans to make it an annual event.

Beyond that, this tragedy should remind us all of the importance of trying to avoid being on the road when a flash flood warning is in effect.

Conditions can change so quickly that there’s not enough time to react as water rushes in.

It’s also appropriate for the public to help Douglass officials as they continue the cleanup from this astonishing storm.

That means being patient as crews clear debris from roads, and avoiding township roads that many drivers often use as shortcuts to reach area highways.

Let the memory of Pamela and Preston guide the community as it struggles to recover. May the outpouring of love they’ve inspired last long after the damage from the storm is repaired.

This is hardly an occasion to blame anyone. The situation in Douglass Township that day became so dire, so quickly, there was not much to be done.