I read with disappointment and confusion the front-page article titled “Autopsy: Drugs, not crash, caused death.” (Oct. 29) That headline was misleading, hurtful and unnecessary.

The story is about the case of a police officer’s accident. The individual who passed away was but an innocent passerby who was unfortunately involved in the accident. For legal reasons, an autopsy had to be performed to rule out the accident as the cause of death of the innocent young man. Though the simple story was that there was no connection between the accident and the young man’s death, the Sun Journal chose to sensationalize and lead readers with an inaccurate implication.

The use of the word ‘drugs’ in the headline provided readers with an immediate reaction that was unnecessary. Not until halfway through the article does the reader (if they read that far) learn that the “drugs” referred to was actually a non-prescription cold medicine. In fact, there was no need to state anything about the actual cause of death other than it was not related to the crash. It was unfair and insensitive to give a connotation of illicit behavior by this decent, innocent person. The newspaper’s thoughtlessness has compounded the tragedy of this young man’s passing.

Mr. Taylor was an exceptional individual whose memory, family and friends have been hurt by the newspaper’s tactlessness. It has made him a victim not only of the accident but also of the newspaper.

Mark Adams, Lewiston