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Indiana State Police via AP
Police say the drivers of two vehicles were killed early Thursday in a fiery wreck after one of them was driving the wrong way down Interstate 94 near Michigan City, Ind.
A woman and her two young sons were found dead in their suburban Detroit home Thursday when police went there to notify her that her husband had died in a fiery, head-on car wreck in Indiana, police said.
Police in Wayne County’s Van Buren Township said they went to the home around 8:30 a.m. after being notified of a man’s death in a car crash near Michigan City, Ind. They found a door to the house ajar, and when no one responded, police went inside and found a woman, 34, and her 4-year-old and 7-year-old sons dead in beds in separate bedrooms.
The identities of the victims have not been released and police would not say how the three were killed, but the case was being investigated as a homicide. Police said a possible weapon was found in the home.
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Earlier Thursday, police identified the father of the children and husband of the woman, Michael Van Der Linden, 39, as one of two drivers killed in a car crash near Michigan City, Ind., Thursday morning.
Indiana State Police said State Trooper Lawrence McFarrin responded at about 1:35 a.m. to a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 in northern Indiana near Michigan City.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Van Der Linden left a highway rest area driving on the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on with another vehicle, causing a fire that engulfed both vehicles.
The LaPorte County Fire Department – also called to the scene – extinguished the flames and found the drivers in the wreckage.
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LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan pronounced the drivers, Van Der Linden and 45-year-old Juan Nelson of Portage, Ind., dead at the scene, police said.
The causes of death for both men were fourth-degree burns and blunt force trauma, Sullivan said, and the deaths were ruled accidental at this time.
Two westbound lanes of I-94 near Michigan City were closed for several hours after the crash.
A statement released by the Van Buren School District Thursday afternoon said the two boys were students and had finished the first grade and preschool earlier this year.
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I'm getting so tired of these stories.
They just drain you of life and hope.
There is no justice, no revenge, no nothing.
If that were true then the human race would have died off many years ago. The fact is, these people who do this are a very small percentage. The 99 percent of the rest of us are just trying to make the best of life and as hard as things are we keep moving and keep trying to make it better. When you let others decide how you will live, then you have become a prisoner to them and you can't control others in their lives and the choices they make, but you can certainly take control of your own and do all you can to make the best of what life has too offer...the glass is still half full regardless of what the media tries to tell us.
Hi William,
Welcome to the daily reality for many people around the world. Consider yourself lucky that it took you this long to feel lifeless and hopeless. Many people have been feeling this way for centuries. Many people are born into lifelessness and hopelessness.
Unfortunately there is no cure for this, but some people have found relief by focusing on what little they do have instead of how much they don't have. Hug your kids, play with your dog, and watch your tv. You'll feel better soon.
RwEvans and ithad2bsaid
Very well said both of you.. If you are feeling drained take a respite from the news, media will always give us an extra dose of the lowest human forms for ratings.. Kittens/Rainbows/Butterflies don't attract the masses like Fire/Explosions/Death.. When I start hating all of mankind because of the news, I turn it off and fish for a week, or find a feel good story.
Last night in my college speech class we had to write 501(c)3 persuasive speeches. Thirteen of us had to battle it out for a fifty dollar donation to our charity of choice. It was a feel good moment that the thirteen of us were speaking of why and how we are impacted by our causes.
WilliamOfRites there is an antidote to the poison media gives us with these kinds of articles, do something to counterbalance the toxins that drain you.
--- The article- if the moron did kill his family, he got the closest thing to burning in hell.. Terrible that he took another life in the process.
Actually there is hope for depressed people but they have to get help and aknowledge they have a problem. It's incredibly selfish to think that other people can't live without you and take them out before you take yourself out. In fact suicide is possibly the most selfish act there is -- aside from having children that the world really doesn't need, especially if your family is dysfunctional. If people would think of the consequences of their choices, maybe they would be more considerate.
These killings are just incomprehensible. Those poor children -- and the innocent man killed in his car, just for being in the wrong place at wrong time.
Unfortunately you cannot make these types of stories of suffering go away. When my husband and I get similarly saturated we designate our home a media-free zone for an entire weekend. We dont watch network or cable TV and we dont get on the computer. We listen to music, work in the yard, go hiking and cook our favorite foods. You might be amazed how rejuvenated you feel come Monday morning.
All you can do is just hope that this never happens to you or someone in your family. The chances of it happening to you are so incredibly remote, but what a horrible thing and what horrible luck for the victim on the road.
I agree with you there Sharon. I did that after the 9/11 attacks. The media was so saturated with it, and my husband was called overseas. I was glued to the set, till I finally realized I was making myself crazy with it. Then I just stopped watchng it. I put it aside when it got too much for me.
My heart goes out to the mother and those two boys, and the innocent driver who was killed.
I simply don't understand these people. If they want to kill themselves, just do it. Leave everyone be.
There are a number of outstanding responses to William's observation here. My reply isn't specifically to William, but just chiming in with my 2 cents. Indeed, the media is now and always has been designed to pander sensational stories of the very worst aspects of life to all of us... that's what sells and that's what generates advertising $$. If you go to Google News and select Archives and look at any major city's newspaper from back in, let's say, the 1880's or 1890's, the stories were even much more sensational, tawdry, tasteless and gory, and life in the major cities was much more squalid and generally awful.
So, not to beat a dead horse, but I'd just like to reiterate the suggestions of the above commentors. My life has improved much since I stopped watching the local news -national/international I watch once in awhile and keep abreast via the internet, but the local news is just an endless litany of horrible accidents and crimes. The news media could equally well provide you with an endless litany of feel-good stories ad nauseum of people doing good things and visiting elderly folks in nursing homes etc., but that doesn't sell.
Selling hopelessness, accidents, violence, war, chaos, and melancholy generates $$$ for the media and perpetuates an environment of fear. Take a break from it, get away from the TV, newspaper, radio, or internet, get out of your house and take a walk (it's really not that dangerous out there), don't be afraid to fly or drive and travel... the reality is, the murders, abductions, shootings, accidents, and crimes happen, but aren't really all that common - they can't be feared so much that one becomes a recluse in one's own home. Regardless of whether you are religious, atheist, or agnostic, young or old, you can make a special effort be a decent person, be good to others, help others, treat people decently, spend time with a child and teach him or her something interesting about the butterflies and bugs and plants in the backyard or the stars and planets and moon, plant some plants or veggies in your garden (or make a garden), talk to an elderly person who looks lonely. If you have the economic wherewithal to do so, volunteer or donate some $$ to a good cause; if not, just help out your family and neighbors and perhaps a stanger in need from time to time. These types of activities help to counterbalance the horrors and evil of everyday life, and make our world a better place for all of us.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" -- FDR
Is it any different when the american military slaughters innocent women and children . I don't see Americans distraught about the needless wars we start. We are desensitized to murder regardless of where it occurs and it is a symptom of a calloused society or maybe just too many people on the planet. Kind of like the lemmings going over the cliff.
Calico, he got a taste... Now he is getting the real deal.
Why don't these cowards just go off and kill themselves if they are so miserable! So tired of hearing this, and to bring an innocent person into the tragedy is terrible, plus your wife and innocent children, there is a special place in hell for these kinds. The world is going to s***, nothing but conflict, and 13, and 14 year olds going off and beating the hell out of some lone 45 year old just walking home! Maybe the Mayans are right and we are all going to self destruct this December! I just don't get it!
Maybe the Mayans meant that by the year 2012, mankind would have done enough evil that he is doomed.
Crystal has a point. I'm willing to bet that there are going to be thousands of suicides by the end of this year with people believing the end of the world is in December.
Of course I don't know what to think at this time but will wait and see rather than making stupid assumptions about the future that I don't even know about. It's like telling someone to give me six numbers that are winners. Yeah, like they know.
Creek Dog, remember all the evangelicals who say the world will end, and oh yeah...give me your money. People are gullible. That's a fact.
Robert not all evangelicals believe the world is going to end in December. The scriptures are clear to the fact that no one knows the day or hour. We are to always be spiritually ready. Dressed and adorned for the bridegroom to come back for his bride which is the church. The hope is not found in this world it is found in Christ.
It's not the Evangelicals saying it now Robert. Obviously you have a problem with people like that, but it's not them saying it.
It does seem that the world is going through a time of great turmoil. Floods and earthquakes, wars and mass murders. It's just something new every day. The Book of Revelations speaks of these turmoils. Is this what was spoken of? Who knows. We won't know until it happens.
Unbelievably sad.
I agree, stormrider, to make innocent people and his own children pay for HIS misery is absolutely evil!
I hope the Mayans aren't right. But, it's not looking good.
Ps. The teens that beat that poor man need the tar beat out of them.
It won't be December and the Mayan calender that will cause mass suicides , it will be the DEFEAT OF OBAMA and his LIBERAL allies , HOORAY!!
Once again some idiot has to make a tragedy a platform for his stupidity. Congrats.
Yes, I was wondering when Obama was going to take the blame for this killing.
While I am certainly looking forward to Obozo's defeat in November, I don't see any connection to this muder and him.
And just WHO will be committing suicide when the community organizer goes back to Chicago?
I find it interesting when people question whether the Mayans were "right". And yet, the Mayans never said the world was going to end in December 2012. This was the imagination of bored humans giving additional interpretation to something completely benign.
It would be no different than humans in the year 2999 suggesting that when the year 3000 hits, it must be the end of the world because the "2" will disappear in the year.
People killing people,,,,I can't handle hearing of this, EVERY DAY ---Every single day,,,,,,How can population be so high with the deaths at the hands of wonton murderers all over the place.....I will say,,,,,for F--ks sake folks chill out at least a little bit before grabin' your damn hardware,,,,it just SO isn't worth it!!! Our Makers heart must be sooooo Broken by our selfish reactions to minor traumas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!amd Killing all over the Place,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ZZAR
Right? These horrendous crimes that seem committed in the heat of the moment, in retrospect may have been years in the making...a sense of hopelessness that makes my heart ache. We, as a society, have become so selfish...the all about me show...and we are ALL paying the price. Very very sad.
Let me play detective. The guy killed his wife and kids. Tore up the highway and contemplated his own suicide. Got on the wrong side of the highway and took out the first poor dude coming home from work. If there's a hell, he's being checked in.
it's about time someone figured it out. There is no way the innocent car crash victims family or friends figured out where the guy lived and went and killed his family. It was obvious to me right away that this guy killed his own family then purposely drove the wrong way down I94 after leaving that rest area. Not to mention that Michigan city, IN is a couple hours drive from Detroit. He had a long time to think about what he was going to do.
You're right, kountryking. Absolutely no way the innocent car crash victim's could have been responsible in terms of retaliation, there is no way they would have known the identity of the guy driving the car going the wrong way until well after the accident. No one even knew the identity of the guy going the wrong way until the first responders got the fires extinguished and the police ran the VIN on the car and probably later (after they went to his house and found the bodies of his wife and kids) verified his body's ID from dental records matching the remains. Horrible that this guy took so many innocent people with him, indeed if there's a hell, he's checked in.
My first thoughts were the same as the previous posts, that he killed his wife and kids and then committed suicide taking out the first innocent drive her encountered.
I hope the police don't look at it as simply as this. There is a chance that he irritated the wrong person or group of people. They could have killed his family and were after him. I still believe he committed suicide but in the event that he did not kill his family, I wouldn't want someone else to just get away with something.
Hmmm...good point Laura.
That's very true Laura. To look it it, it seems pretty cut and dry. But it could be someone else who did it. If that's the case though, why would he commit suicide?
Fukkin Coward!
Ah.....the good ole days when men were men. Today there are sooooo many murdering cowards! It's just insane as to how these men end up with that kind of mind (or NO mind). They use to be the protector of the family.
I agree with you Bill of Rights....these stories just deflate me. I have a ten month old son and I enjoy every minute with him and watching him learn and develop.....but I'm fearful of the world he is growing up in. Moreso than my parents were for me at that age.
I hope he was alive when his car burned.
Was alive but unconscious when 4th degree burns got him.
Sweet Jesus, please bless their souls. How tragic.
saw this movie last night, kind of creeped me out wondering about people like this.....
in the movie, (basically same line as every movie about day of reckoning), those who were killed, or have you that were saved, just vanished. well, this guy decides he going to call God's hand, and suffocates first his wife, then their daughter. "poof" they vanish. this guy flies off to church, (denomination unmentioned in movie), and thanks God, as he weeps. later he comes face to face with whom is to be the son of God, (of course at this point in the movie he's pretty gone and holding a shot gun), askes to be sent to heaven now. basically thinking he saved God the trouble of making it happen, he should get his pass in, and now. well the young boy tells the man yup, his wife and daughter are in heaven, there is nothing to fear. yet because you have commited the most henious crime, killing your own family, there can be no forgiveness, and you have sealed your fate in hell.
to anyone who thinks killing your family gets them a free pass, and you as well.... or even if you know your going to hell..... God imo puts people on this earth for a reason, and he takes them out. it is not by the hand of man to make these choices, no matter what religion you endulge in with all of your heart. no matter what lame f'ing reason you may have, you still will not get a free pass. no matter what bible tells you otherwise. No Muhammed (sic?) no cow, and any other form of iconic faith you may kneel to. if you think killing your self is going to send you in either direction, by all means seek help, or feel free to give it a 1st hand look with out taking the family along.
Thank you, NaughtyMossy for capitalizing God's name. The game show, American Bible Challenge isn't doing it. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the
Father, but by me. There are no many paths to God as Oprah claims. Only one, through Jesus Christ!
What's the point of not naming the homicide victims if they name the husband and father of these same victims?
I know right???
May that coward rot.
May his victims RIP.
i think back to the early 1970's when i would read the paper, see a story like this, and think it was so awful and random that i wouldn't see the likes of it again.. just could not happen again. I was as wrong as i could have been. Go give somebody you love a hug or phone call etc--- stay human in a good way.
GREAT comment Buster!! I have the same thought and memories. I think it seems so much more common now b/c we used to ONLY get news that impacted our immediate areas or our state. Unless it was "the President" coming on, which had to be a MAJOR event or a speech. I don't know if y'all's broadcasting was different or not. But definitely a LOT different today with so much "multi-media" stuff going on. ~Have a SAFE & wonderful day & weekend!~
How tragic for the innocent.Why people would kill them is beyond my understanding.I hope there is peace for the survivors of those killed. We can't understand such evil in our day. Obviously these things have happened many times, and are not unique. They have occurred since before our country was founded and go back far in time. In a country of over 300 million there will be many cases of people committing horrible acts of evil. So then the question becomes, when we bring children into this world what future do they possible face and what can we do?
When my son was born, as I held him in my arms, I had just been discharged from the military and was acutely aware of the dangers in the world. A particularly bloody period was going on across our nation including random serial killings,rival gang violence, a rash of recent murders in our area and bombings overseas that left many people stunned.Wondering if we had entered a new phase unpresedented in history. The topic of raising children in today's world seemed to be on everybody's mind and in the media. I even had on sibling who decided not to have any because of the events going on overseas and at home.We had ended one bloody long drawn out war already.The question posed was, did one have the right to bring up a child into a world so consumed with evil, violence, with people so cold hearted bent on destruction?So the decision was made not to. I too asked that question.Then talk to a wise perosn.
My grandma spoke of the Great War, killing millions of lives,shattering so many more and changing forever how people looked at the world.I realized as she described her feelings the mistake one so often makes assuming we understand the world of another person. We really can't measure the depth of emotions someone may have no matter how much we try.As she talked of a beautiful time and then forever having it destroyed. Long nights waiting for any word terrifed she'd lose her loved one and trying to figure out how to face the world with her babies if she did. Scared to death what futures they might face if she failed.Then WW2 came with 65 million deaths.The horrors of the Holocaust, pictures seen around the world and finally the atom bombs. The evil that men do to each other. During those times people talked of not having children, for who could justify bringing children into such a terrible world. When there seemed no possible future for mankind. Afterwards,there was a surge in the American birth rate, now known as baby boomers. As couples sought to put such horrible nightmares behind them. They needed to, with so many nightmares, after all the personal sacrifices from every household.And real threats that seemed possible after Pearl Harbor.
I was told, "Each generation will face evil in its own various forms.And must face their own fears. Just as in the past, our ancestors had to face it as well in their own way.The only differences will be the form the fears take."We are witnessing the miracles of medicine,technology, science which has saved,blessed untold millions of lives around the world because of the children allowed to be born after both World Wars and every war since.Their parents raised them to look at the possibilities and dreams,make something of life that is good.
That is what grandma was telling me.Every child represents hope and we are telling the world we have faith in the good people in the world.We will not give in and let those who choose evil win. We will do what it takes to help make the world safer for our children as they grow.Teach them to look at the positive.A person will do things for their children they would never do for themselves. Because they are motivated by love. By standing against those storms, we are demonstrating our courage to go on.She said, because so many people believed in the good of mankind and in each other they raised families. They choose to be active in communities so there were enough people to stop Hitler in WW2.When evil tried to rule the world.The world needs children because they are candles in the darkness and lighting the way so we wil eventually live in peace. Baby steps. That's what she called it.To stop evil in our everyday lives, we don't have to stand on the sidelines.We can take part in changing our communities into a better place for our children. And so the next time it tries to rule the world good people can step forward before it even gets off the ground. Children provide the perfect excuse to start.
Awesome and Intelligent Post, Winddancersong!
He murdered his family with a knife, then fled.
He was ON DRUGS, (legal ones). When are people going to become smart enough to read the side effects of the drugs their doctor gives them? Doctors are drug pushers for American catels.
American drug cartels.
Didn't you hear that Americans don't believe in "growing up" and fixing your mind and soul? Americans think a pill or drugs will fix any problem they have!
Everyone except Tubleweed is on drugs, right? Drugs are always the reason for whatever bad happens. Your world must really suck, bud. Seems like your drug is judging everyone else, from afar. You cannot possibly know for a fact that this individual was on any drugs.
Well custom, if you read the story in his local paper, you'll know what I do. But then you'll not have the balls to apologize.
I agree with you there Arizona. Too many people think the cures of all their problems are in a pill bottle. And we wonder why there's so much drug addiction in our kids. They start by taking Mom and Dads drugs out of the medicine cabinet.
A good percentage of the Street drugs come right out of our own homes.
Another sick coward who cannot deal with life, so he kills others. R.I.P. mom and two little boys. Sorry this was your husband and father. R.I.P. gentlman who this coward decided to kill by hitting your car head-on.
May the coward burn in hell!
"The identities of the victims have not been released and police would not say how the three were killed, but the case was being investigated as a homicide."
These cops don't miss a thing....
What a tragedy. May the innocent driver, Mom & her children rest in peace. Condolences to the family & friends. May God give you all the strength, guidance & love needed to get through this trying time. May the so called human that took these lives burn in hell! (He doesn't deserve to be called husband & father).
This actually would make a real good movie. Possibly this man didn't kill his family. There could be all sorts of twists and turns. Possibly he wasn't even aware they were dead. Possibly a fluke he entered the freeway going the wrong direction. Maybe he had just left his girlfriends house and his Viagra was still on over load making it hard to think and drive.
OK, yup he probably did kill his family and decided to take out at least one more innocent victim on his way out.
I feel badly for this family's survivors and friends. No one should die the way they did. No one should have to live with the aftermath of such destruction.
He stabbed them in the chest.
Umm, looks to me like the husband/father killed the family and intentionally crashed his car.
Arizona Tumbleweed is right. I just googled Michael Van Der Linden, clicked on the first article and found out for myself. His wife (Linda Van Der Linden) was stabbed in the chest, but died of strangulation. Her sons (Julien, 7,and Matthew, 4,) were stabbed in the chest and arms. A butcher knife believed to be the weapon was found in the kitchen sink. Michael Van Der Linden is "absolutely" suspected of killing his family. He committed suicide by driving on the wrong side of the road with his headlights off.
Why would anyone think Arizona made up some of these facts? What would he get from that? Is it just because he knew more details than nbcnews is tellin? All you have to do is google to find more details to a story.
But the facts would take away the fun of mocking---another facet of today's society, besides all the violence.
I'm no detective but let me guess on this one...husband kills wife and children, gets in car and commits suicide by deliberately driving the wrong way on the freeway and slamming his car head-on into another??? hmmmmmm???
3 guesses Roger,,and the first 2 don't count.
Roger that...
I had come to that conclusion before I got to the end of the third paragraph. Such a tragedy to involve so many innocent bystanders...
I almost ran my car right into this accident that night after driving someone to a center for treatment in MI, it was so black. It was an absolute mess of twisted smoldering metal. I reported it and read about that mans poor family and the other left fatherless the next day. I still shake when I talk about it. This could happen anywhere at anytime so pay attention for the warning signs!
The comments on this are many. I just want to throw this into the mix. Sociology class? I can not remember. There is a link to the number of societal ills and the unemployment/hopelessness that people feel or exist in. Researchers have been aware for many years that things such as domestic violence, homicide etc. rise during poor economic times. Would some sociologists please help us out and give us an education here on what is happening to the U.S.'s seaming societal' unraveling.