There has been a lot of talk this week about the three young boys who were killed in a car crash on River Watch Parkway near Stevens Creek Road.

The loss of these area children is truly heartbreaking.

But the grief was only heightened this week when the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office released the accident report that found both vehicles involved in the crash were running a red light.

After interviewing witnesses who saw the wreck, deputies learned that both the Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by 33-year-old Christopher Whitehead and the Toyota Corolla driven by 31-year-old Wade Jackson were traveling illegally through the intersection’s stop light. The only difference was the cars were headed in opposite directions.

Whitehead was driving eastbound on River Watch Parkway through the intersection of Stevens Creek Road as Jackson was headed westbound on River Watch and began turning left onto Steven Creek Road.

As the two vehicles crossed the intersection, the front of Whitehead’s truck hit the right side of Jackson’s Toyota carrying the three young boys.

After impact, the accident report states that the pickup truck rolled onto its left side and came back upright, continuing to travel eastbound before coming to a rest on the shoulder of the roadway.

The Corolla rotated clockwise and came to rest facing the westbound lane.

Tragically, 8-year-old John Powell, who was Jackson’s stepson, died at the scene.

Jackson’s nephew, 9-year-old Qumain Jones, and a friend, 9-year-old Eric Smalls, died later from their injuries.

God only knows the deep sorrow that Wade Jackson and Christopher Whitehead have been experiencing since the wreck. This was Jackson’s family and now those boys are gone.

Little bodies are so fragile and one simple mistake can change the lives of everyone you know and love in literally an instant.

Everyone gets in a rush sometimes. Everybody these days is in a hurry, but if Augustans learn anything from this terrible tragedy it’s this: Sometimes it’s better to be a little late than facing such a devastating loss.

In honor of these three boys and their families, all Augustans should slow down on the roadways, think twice, have a little more patience behind the wheel and cherish the passengers inside their cars.

Those family members and friends are the most precious cargo you can carry.

Keep them safe.