Crash or Stabbing: Chicago Tribune’s Reality Distortion Field in News Media Needs Clarification

Take a good look at the picture below showing paramedics rushing to transport a person on a gurney. The picture was used by the Chicago Tribune for a video feature on a fatal crash on Route 53 near Kirchoff Road Tuesday night about 7:05 p.m.

UPDATE: The Chicago Tribune has corrected this article.

You might think that this picture shows paramedics rushing 34-year-old Rolling Meadows resident Tiffany Ensalaco to the hospital from the Route 53 crash scene. However, you might notice that the scene has no resemblance to Route 53. That’s because the still image edited into a Tribune feature video is lifted from another news story. The picture, by Abe Van Dyke, shows paramedics rushing a 12-year-old girl, who was stabbed near a wooded area in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Waukesha Memorial Hospital.

The victim on the stretcher was stabbed 19 times by two girls who were supposed to be her friends. The two 12-year-old female offenders have been identified as Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier. The girls explained to police that they needed to impress a ghoulish character named Slenderman, who is the leader of a web site called creepypasta. In order to please Slenderman, a follower had to kill a person. You can read about the details on CNN … or watch the video from ABC News below …

911 Call Saved Girl From Being Stabbed to Death: Details emerge that the girls believed they might become agents for a fictional online character by killing their friend.

Fast forward to the crash in Rolling Meadows. The video featured on the Chicago Tribune doesn’t appear to have any images from the Rolling Meadows crash. The Ford pickup truck shown is file video and an image with police shows them standing in an area that doesn’t look anything like Rolling Meadows.

The reporter credited on the Tribune article is known to do some excellent work, especially on the night shift in Chicago. He may not even be responsible for the video. It just doesn’t seem like the normal high quality work of the Chicago Tribune.

The integrity of the images connected to an emergency scene is important for investigations, and is important so people understand what happened, and perhaps even learn to live safer lives. In some cases it may be comforting for friends and family to know their loved ones were cared for with a valiant effort. A mishmash of fabricated images or mistaken images doesn’t do the news industry or any of the public any good.

See also …
The Cardinal Crash with Fatal Ejection on Route 53 Near Kirchoff Rd, Rolling Meadows

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