This is a difficult story to share. I have been postponing writing it for several days because I couldn't bring myself to think about the details again.

What started out as a fun vacation for a Missouri family ended in tragedy. Fifty-one year-old Lonnie Owens, accompanied by his wife, daughter, three sons, and a family friend was driving their 1990 Crown Royale Monarch by Monaco when the motor home lost its brakes on the steep descent from Hurricane Ridge, a scenic attraction in the Olympic National Park near Port Angeles, Washington.

As the motor home careened out of control down the mountain road entering the busy streets of Port Angeles, it hit several vehicles, rolled over a curb and sidewalk, crashed through a handrail, and snapped several small trees before landing in a gully. With the front part of the motor home pushed in and the cabinetry and interior debris crushing him from the rear, Lonnie Owens did not have a chance.

There will be much speculation as to what caused this accident. The Owens family, as is their privilege, has not yet granted any interviews. It may be that Lonnie Owens did not exercise prudence when starting down the long, steep grade, but shouldn't the motor home have survived the collision without such extensive damage? Why should the interior of any motor home come loose from the walls? What happened to the concept of screws and glue that is still used by better RV builders? These are important questions to be asked by every RVer considering the purchase of a motor home.

It is unfortunate that the sheer size of most Class A motor homes tends to give a false sense of security to drivers and occupants. RVers need to be aware that big is not always safer.

The last several minutes of Lonnie Owens' conscious life must have been sheer terror combined with his attempts to save his family. He died from head and internal injuries two days after the accident. His wife and daughter were hospitalized with many injuries. Having been transported to different hospitals, they never saw their husband and father before he died.

Postscript:

I asked JD Gallant to go with me to inspect the motor home at the storage yard. While walking around the broken hulk, he kept shaking his head as he clicked the camera.

"Like the one RVCG studied in depth a few years ago, this should be put on public display," he said, referring to a Class C motor home's interior that came apart during a collision of lesser impact. "We all know there's a risk of being killed from a frontal collision, but none of us expects to be done in because the cabinets were not adequately fastened," he added.

On the return trip, we determined to let you view the 33 photographs we have chosen so that you can reach your own conclusions.