FROM THE NEWSROOM:

As the elder statesman here at the Daily Pilot, I’ve been eyewitness to my share of the big stories that have helped shape Newport-Mesa’s history, good and bad.

Two of those stories that stand out in my mind were exceptionally tragic, both of which happened in May — the preschool murders in May 1999 and the Irvine Avenue crash in May 1997.

Today is the anniversary of the latter.

Ten years ago today, 10 kids from Newport Harbor High School took a real and metaphorical journey that ended one life and permanently damaged or affected the rest.

Ten years later, we struggled with how to mark the tragedy.

The media are often criticized for doing anniversary stories. What is the point, some ask? Why should the media resurrect this agony for all to relive?

And that’s what we faced in telling this story.

Many of those involved, or their families, didn’t want to talk about it any longer. The old wounds were too deep, too painful, to let them resurface, they said.

When I think of those wounds, I think often of the family of Donny Bridgman, especially his mom, Vickie, who suffered immeasurable pain that May day 10 years ago.

Donny was the only one who died in the tragedy on Irvine Avenue. He was a senior, graduating with honors and heading to the University of Colorado.

Six years ago, Vickie Bridgman sent me an e-mail, explaining how the month of May is now a reminder to her of that pain.

“May was once a wonderful month for me,” she wrote. “Then my son Donny, age 18 … was killed in a car crash. Four years later, the first of the month begins a process of reliving, with even greater intensity than I do on a daily basis, the horrors, sadness and terror of his death for my family and me.”

She also wrote that parents should use the tragedy as a lesson, during this time, to keep their children safe.

“Parents, make this month a time for extra safety reminders to our teens,” she wrote. “Remind them to wear their seat belt, to be careful about who they get into a car with. Enforce the graduated license law requirements in your family. Do not speed. A death from a crash related to irresponsible teen driving is no less painful than one from any other cause. Remind them to not drink and especially not to drink and drive. Perhaps most importantly, set a good example in your own driving habits.”

After the tragedy, I remember that two of the kids in the car, Jason Rausch, the driver, and Amanda Arthur (now Amanda Edwards), the survivor who was left in a coma for 11 weeks, attempted to live by those words.

They spent time at local high schools warning kids of the dangers of teen driving and drinking.

Does it work? Who knows? Maybe there will be one kid who will remember the tragedy of 10 years ago and ensure that history does not repeat itself. We can only hope.

So maybe that’s the real reason we need to do anniversary stories. History, as I noted above, is made up of stories of triumph and tragedy. If we choose only to remember the triumphs, how can we possibly learn from the tragedies?

So we tell this story today not so much to reopen old wounds and create fresh pain, but to do our job.

And that job is to tell the story of this remarkable Newport-Mesa community, blemishes and all.