Ohio vet's car strikes people lined up for parade
By Associated Press
Police in Ohio say a car driven by a World War II veteran went off the road and struck five people lined up for a Memorial Day parade.
Authorities say 84-year-old Everett Cole's vehicle rolled over and hit a tree in front of a house in West Chester, about 15 miles north of Cincinnati.
Cole was conscious and talked with emergency personnel as they extracted him from the car. There was no immediate word on the extent of any injuries to him or others.
Because, clearly, the man was behind the wheel of this vehicle, and was, therefore, ostensibly in control of it. It's the usual "you're allowed to run people over if you're too old to be driving" thing that always happens.
Headline rewrite: Ohio vet strikes paradegoers when he loses control of his vehicle
First paragraph rewrite: Police in Ohio say a World War II veteran in a car lost control of his vehicle, went off the road, and struck five people lined up for a Memorial Day parade.
The original, by keeping it passive voice, it eliminates agency. And people might say "Oh, give the poor 84-year-old a break." And I'd say: 1) He shouldn't be driving anywhere at 84 years of age, least of all at a parade; and 2) five people got injured by this -- what about them?
The double standard with oldsters behind the wheel is dangerous to them, and to the people around them. Camouflaging it with passive voice doesn't do anybody any favors. Passive voice is used all the time in the news to spin things this way or that.
