Amy Walsh, 20, Hit by Several Cars, Dies by Suicide
by Kevin Caruso
I sit here in shock.
I live in San Diego County, California.
And I just heard about another suicide on the news.
This one close to home.
Interstate 8 is a freeway that I have taken countless times. It is one of the main
east-to-west freeways in the county.
On April 16, 2004, Amy Walsh ran out onto interstate 8 and laid down. She was struck by several vehicles and died from extensive trauma.
The suicide occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on the eastbound side of the interstate in the city of El Cajon.
Yes, every suicide bothers me.
Every one.
Every suicide makes me sad.
Every suicide makes me feel pain.
And every suicide makes me think of the suicide survivors who are left to deal with the anguish from the suicide.
Ruth Cruz is Amy's mother.
She will have pain that is almost unimaginable to deal with.
We all need to remember that each suicide affects many lives. And those lives are forever impacted because of the suicide.
Yet suicide survivors like Ruth often do not receive the understanding and love that they should.
Too many people are just too ignorant about suicide. They still maintain a "suicide taboo." They don't talk about suicide.
And they blame the victims by saying that those who die by suicide are "weak" or "crazy" or "stupid" or they made "the wrong choice."
And they take three steps back when a suicide survivor mentions that he or she lost a loved one to suicide.
Enough.
We owe every Ruth Cruz in this world as much love and understanding as possible.
And that understanding starts with this:
Suicide is almost always caused by untreated depression. People die by suicide because they have an illness. It is not their fault that they died by suicide. And it is not the fault of the suicide survivors.
People who die by suicide are not weak. They are strong.
They are not crazy. They are perfectly sane.
They are not stupid. They are smart.
They did not make "the wrong choice." They made the ONLY choice that made sense to them at the time, because they were sick. They had a chemical imbalance in their brain. And they desperately wanted to stop that pain but could not.
No more ignorance.
No more taboos.
No more insensitivity.
No more name-calling.
It is time for all of us to learn more about suicide, and to be much more understanding about the people who die by suicide, and much more understanding and helpful to the survivors of suicide.
We will miss you Amy.
And all of our love goes out to the suicide survivors.
If you or someone you know is suicidal, please go to the Home Page of this website for immediate help.
Thank you.
I love you.
Take care,
Kevin Caruso
