8-year-old boy's dad didn't run in Marathon

I'm pretty close to boiling point on this. This stuff enrages me.

From Kevin Cullen's column, published in Tuesday's paper:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/15/perfect-day-turns-evil/W7KQHq1NWFqukte3VQ14DJ/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

From the AP story later in the day Tuesday:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/8-year-old_boy_killed_in_bosto.html

Does anyone have more information or stories that are linked to this? I can't believe there hasn't been more outrage.

Without knowing all the details, it still pisses me off, but if the father wasn't on the race list and Cullen couldn't bother to fact check even that, I think it's an inexcusable mistake.

 

Same column also mentioned The Saudi National as suspect.

Didn't Cullen take over The Mike Barnicle slot? That column comes with a license.

 

Cullen's column today:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/16/when-doing-your-job-more-than-doing-job/QOdqUtt5oeZREmbUmhhbJI/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

He acknowledges the Richards' family as spectators, but does nothing to correct the lie he printed in Tuesday's paper. Absolutely gutless.

 

I suppose checking the list of finishers would have been too hard.

 

The larger issue -- and it's been an issue for years, years, YEARS -- is that journalists gotta STOP believing everything cops and firefighters say about everything and triple-check the damn shit.

 

If the kid was still waiting for his Dad on the finish line, the Dad wouldn't have been on the list of finishers.
Just sayin'.

 

There is a list of participants, no?

 

"who had gone out to hug his dad after he crossed the finish line"

Just sayin'. Kinda implies that the dad finished the race.

 

Exactly. It really wouldn't be that hard. He didn't even single-check this (looking at the participant or finisher list).

 

But it was Murph from Southy. He's a good shit.

 

It's not much of a defense, but I'll be bold enough to say the folks compiling the lists may have had more important things on their mind, like getting the hell out of there.

Still, you find out you eff up, correct it!

 

I don't the lists are "compiled" by a human. Races are all chip-timed, so names automatically show up on websites. At Boston, you can follow online to see every runner's mile-by-mile progress.

Checking the name would not have been difficult. I can understand it as a mistake, though, because of the chaos of the day. But not correcting it is pretty short-dicked.