Did you hear about that fatal car crash Mitt Romney was in? The incident happened in France in June 1968, when Romney was serving as a Mormon missionary. It made the U.S. papers in 2007, but considering that the man is running for president, it's surprising that the story has been discussed so little in the current mainstream media.





Now, just following Romney's swing through Florida, some conspiracy theorists are emerging and making major allegations: that Romney may have been at fault in the car accident that killed Leola Anderson and that reporters have been duped into glossing it over.

Sound crazy? Hey, in a world in which presidential candidates have been known to hide their New Age mistresses and secret love babies, no rumor should go unchecked.

People close to Romney -- including the dead woman's son -- have asserted he was not responsible for the crash, but the incident is old and murky enough that questions surrounding it could fuel anyone who wants to paint Romney as an entitled rich kid who escaped punishment. (Remember the gay bullying incident?)

We combed through both internet rumors and published reports to sort fact from fiction. Here's what we found:







Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish is credited with first bringing the incident to light in a 2007 article. We could not find a link to the original article, but he retells the story in his book The Real Romney, cowritten with Scott Helman. The book describes how Romney was driving with his then-supervisor, mission President Duane Anderson, and Anderson's wife, Leola, in the front seat of a Citroen DS. He also had three passengers, fellow Mormons, in the back. reporter Michael Kranish is credited with first bringing the incident to light in a 2007 article. We could not find a link to the original article, but he retells the story in his bookcowritten with Scott Helman. The book describes how Romney was driving with his then-supervisor, mission President Duane Anderson, and Anderson's wife, Leola, in the front seat of a Citroen DS. He also had three passengers, fellow Mormons, in the back.





The book asserts that "a Catholic priest in a Mercedes passed a truck at high speed, missed a curve near a post office, and smashed nearly head-on into their car." The book gives no attribution for this information but quotes Romney saying, "It happened so quickly that as I recall, there was no honking and no braking." Romney said he barely remembered the crash and woke up in the hospital. Passenger Suzanne Farel, who was in the back seat, is credited as saying that "they were driving slowly but the other car had come at them in a flash."





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included even more description: "Anderson was dressed in a dark business suit, and Leola wore high-heeled shoes, a white dress and a glimmering necklace with pearl-like beads." Yet the story does not clearly explain who provided these colorful details.