This is Pastor Tim’s article which appeared in the Evening Leader on Tuesday, July 23, 2024
In the year 2000, I was in a horrendous car accident. I believe I have written about it before, but the gist of the story is that I was on my way home on I-71 on my way back to Cincinnati. It was raining and the traffic suddenly bogged down. I distinctly remember watching the two headlights of a semi go off each side of my rearview mirror. The truck rear-ended me with so much force that I still remember watching my factory radio bust out of the dashboard and fly past my head and into the backseat. The truck hit me and totaled a couple of cars ahead of mine. You know how certain memories are bored into your mind? The car in front of me was an olive-green station wagon with wood paneling on the side. My back window shattered and my driver’s seat broke off. When the car came to rest, I was sitting on the driver’s seat, which was so far back that my head was almost in my back window. I was looking directly up at the sky with rain falling on my face and I was covered in glass. The seatbelt undoubtedly saved my life. I walked away with a dark back bruise that ran from my waist almost to my shoulder from the seatbelt and a large knot on my right shin. Other than that, I was unharmed.
After the wreck, I had to meet with attorneys and deal with insurance companies and pick up a rental car, not to mention someone had to drive to Columbus from Cincinnati to pick me up. I was out of my church for a day or two. My first day back, I assisted the senior pastor with a funeral for a man killed in a car accident. My accident was caused by poor conditions on an interstate highway. This other man was walking his dog and a car veered off the road and killed him.
I have thought about that a lot over the years. Why does one person live when another person does not? It is not exactly survivor’s guilt because we were not in the same accident, but we were in similar situations. So far, I have gotten 24 more years on this earth than he did. I have told myself many times exactly what you are thinking. There is no rhyme or reason behind things like this. It just happens, or there is no explanation, or my personal favorite, it was God’s will. I struggle with that explanation because I absolutely do credit God with my survival; however I do not believe it was God’s will that the other man die. The real kicker here is that if God is going to be praised for saving me, what do I say to the sobbing widow at his funeral, who looked me in the face at the funeral home and thanked God I was ok? She is a better person than I am, I do not know if I could have said that at that moment.
You already see the comparison I am going to make. Many out there are thanking God that Donald Trump was not shot and killed in Pennsylvania. Looking at the margins between Trump losing part of his right ear and his head exploding on live TV it is hard not to see divine intervention. Then there is a man named Corey Comperatore, a father of two daughters who was shot in the head by the lunatic with no regard for human life. He was a volunteer firefighter, and a church goer who used his body to shield his family. A man, who worked hard, was raising his family and in no way shape or form deserved what happened. Now, as the world is grateful that Trump is alive, the Compertore family is planning for a funeral while dealing with paparazzi and the circus of national media attention.
I pray that Trump never forgets the man who was hit by a bullet meant for him. The only reason those shots were fired is because Trump was there. I say this in no way whatsoever to blame Trump, it is completely not his fault. The responsibility lies solely on the kid shooting the gun. However, my prayer is that Trump, and I don’t mean the larger-than-life persona that he has or the invincible force of nature that Trump is, I mean Trump the man never takes for granted that he survived something he was not supposed to survive while someone else died who was not the target. It is the most humbling thing a man can experience to wonder why you are still here when someone else is not.
I looked at pictures and watched video of Trump at the Republican National Convention this week and his eyes looked tired. I can understand that, having someone shoot at your head probably does not lead to a restful night’s sleep. But my hope is that this will always be a reminder to Trump that life is fragile. No matter what you think of Donald Trump, for better or worse, he is an American icon. But the man behind the reputation just got a distinct wake up call. I wish this did not happen, I wish the gunman would have been stopped before he even got on that roof. But we are where we are now, and I while pray that Trump maintains the courage of his convictions I also hope that he gains a bit of humility from his literal brush with death.
May God have mercy on the Comperatore family. I could not be any more sorry for what you have suffered and I would do anything to take it back on your behalf. Nothing will replace what you have lost, but rest assured, Corey is face to face with God and will be well taken care of until we get the chance to see him again.