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Field of Vision
from the editor
Working Together
by Penny Stacey
It’s not every day that the auto glass industry and the law enforcement
agencies have the chance to work together. But recently just that happened,
when an Oceanside, Calif., police officer investigating a fatal hit-and-run
accident visited the AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™ online message forum
to report that he was searching for a particular vehicle that had been
involved in the accident. Officer Mark Edgren reported that he was searching
for a red 1990 Honda Accord, which, based on an anonymous tip, the police
believed had its windshield replaced in the area on the date of the March
28 accident.
I’ll admit I’ve always been a little drawn to police stories; in college,
one of my main jobs on the student newspaper was the weekly “Police Beat.”
I’d sit with the local college cops and go over the latest vandalism and
DUI arrests around the school. It was the highlight of my week.
So when I saw Edgren’s post and my publisher, Debra Levy, suggested I
contact him for more information, I was happy to do so. But I don’t think
even I realized the power of our readership at that point. But, we ran
a story on April 12 on glassBYTEs.com, and, on April 14, Edgren located
the vehicle—and the shop that had replaced its windshield, with the assistance
of a glassBYTEs.com reader who contacted him. Edgren, clearly a dedicated
officer, returned to the forum to express his thanks—both to glassBYTEs
readers and to the site itself—for assisting with the search.
And I’d like to publicly thank you as well here. While it remains to be
seen whether the car located was the one involved in the accident, and
sadly the 18-year-old victim passed away the day after he was struck,
I’m hopeful that your assistance will lead to some eventual closure for
the family of the victim, who I’m sure is struggling to put the pieces
of the incident together.
Likewise, I’m sure that more cases like this occur—incidents in which
auto glass shops assist the police everyday with such searches. We don’t
always hear about them, and, in fact, I know of at least one case where
a technician helped the police but told them not to release his name for
concerns of reprisal from the suspect.
But, you know who you are, and we at AGRR magazine and glassBYTEs.com
thank you for your dedication to giving back to your community.
Thanks for reading.
Penny Stacey is the editor of AGRR magazine.
AGRR
© Copyright 2011 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.
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