Globe article describes Gary LaTurner fatality as "purported" hit and run

Gary LaTurner, 60, Galena, was struck and killed by a vehicle August 19, 2023 on Route 66 west of Galena. The driver left the scene and never called in the accident.

That would be called a hit-and-run accident in anyone's book.

Except the Joplin Globe.

In the Globe's story of the filing of felony charges against Joplin dentist in connection with the hit-and-run, reporter Jeff Lehr, or more likely a fussy editor, had another name for it in the article's opening paragraph:

Joplin dentist John Joseph is now facing charges, along with his son, in a purported hit-and-run a year ago in Kansas that claimed the life of a 60-year-old pedestrian.

A purported hit-and-run?

"Purported" would mean that it had the appearances of a hit-and-run but may not have been one.

Really?

Consider the next paragraph of the story.

Gary W. LaTurner, of Galena, Kansas, was walking along Route 66 west of Galena shortly before midnight Aug. 19, 2023, when he was fatally struck by a vehicle that left the scene.

LaTurner was "struck by a vehicle that left the scene." What is "purported" about that?

The Cherokee County District Attorney's office believes Joseph's son, Rocco Joseph, 18, was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck and killed LaTurner, but you won't read that in the Globe article.

The article notes that both Josephs were charged with the identical crime, "leaving the scene of a fatality accident," but it never says which one Cherokee County District Attorney Kurt Benecke believes was behind the wheel.

District Attorney Kurt Benecke has declined to comment on the facts of the case, including whether either the son or his father, or both, returned to the scene, citing the court’s sealing of the affidavits pending further adjudication.

Let me see if I have this right. KSNF/KODE and KOAM confirmed (not to mention the Turner Report) that Cherokee County authorities still believe Rocco Joseph was the driver and that John Joseph arrived later. 

(Note: On Friday night, I wrote an article that mistakenly indicated Dr. Joseph was the driver. On Saturday, I was able to confirm Cherokee County authorities believed Rocco Joseph was driving when LaTurner was hit and corrected my original story.)

That information was in their reports four days before the Globe posted its story online and five days before it was in the Globe's print edition.

My guess is Jeff Lehr, who is an excellent reporter, also confirmed this, but was hampered by the newspaper's strict policy of not using any information unless the source is willing to go on the record. While purists might say that is the proper approach, in reality, over the years it has allowed the newspaper to be manipulated time after time because it will accept half truths and occasionally outright lies from officials as long as they are willing to put their names to it, but won't accept any information from anonymous sources, whistleblowers and people who could lose their jobs (or in some cases be subjected to harassment or violence), unless they allow their names to be used.

This is not to suggest that anonymous or unnamed sources be used without verifying that what they said was true.

In this particular story, it was important to erase any confusion about who the alleged driver was who killed Gary LaTurner.

In the Globe's story, Lehr tries to get around the obstacles the Globe's policy imposed by describing "the principle of accomplice liability" since, as notes, "both the son and father could not at the same time have been driving the vehicle that struck LaTurner."

I'm glad he straightened that out, but it still doesn't say which one was the driver, something that was cleared up by every other media source that has reported on it.

And why did it take five days after KSNF/KODE's first report aired for the Globe to post its own story.

This appears to be another example of something the Globe does on a regular basis. The newspaper gets scooped on a big story, then waits several days and act like it's a major Globe scoop and the other stories never existed.

In this case, the five-day-old story of charges being filed against Dr. John Joseph was the banner headline at the top of page one of Thursday's print edition.

No wonder the Globe is able to charge $400+ for a yearly subscription.