Covering breaking news is routine. It’s...

Covering breaking news is routine. It’s the nature of the

business. Being a witness to many awful incidents, you try not to get

involved. It’s pretty much one sided. You respond, you shoot and you

leave. With this tactic you try and forget the events you witness. It

keeps you sane.

A few weeks ago I was assigned to photograph Leslie Rolsheim who

lost her son in a motorcycle accident and was on a mission to educate

people about the difference between safe helmets and ones that don’t

meet safety standards. While searching her van for a portrait of her

son, Jesse, she began to describe the accident and its location. As I

held the 8-by-10 photograph a chill ran down my spine. It all seemed

too familiar. The pieces of the puzzle began to fit. I thought to

myself, “I was there, I was at the scene.” This was an unusual

situation to be in. Luckily I only witnessed the wrecked motorcycle.

I never saw Jesse. This made it easier to cover the story.

To be on the other side of a tragedy is anything but routine for

me. I felt privileged to be welcomed into their home and given the

opportunity to learn more about Jesse. It was amazing to see how

unselfish this family was to take such a terrible event and use it to

fuel a quest to shake up the rules and safety standards of the

motorcycle world here in California, with hopes of saving families

from experiencing the same tragic loss.

-- Sean Hiller