CORPORATE WELFARE RECIPIENTS FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY. A promising Southern Illinois University journalist dies.

Ryan Rendleman, a senior from Batavia studying journalism, was stopped for road construction when a tractor-trailer rear-ended his Honda Accord, according to a release from the Illinois State Police. The initial collision caused a four-vehicle pile-up: Rendleman's car and three semitrailers.

The accident was reported at 1:27 p.m., and Rendleman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.

Stopped for road construction. Some corporate welfare recipient is drafting for some other corporate welfare recipients, and none of those probable log-falsifiers is paying attention to road conditions. Why are we buying rights of way for such people?

The article did not report whether the driver was of a piece with those whose poor driving offered previous material on this theme.

The reporter who was run over by these roadhogs appeared to have a promising future.

In his stint as a reporter, he painted the picture of wet plunges into dunk tanks, relayed the tale of a gruff cab driver turned lunch lady and shared the story of a janitor who jumped to save the life of a suffocating 17-month-old.

Rendleman shared a weekly "Professor Profiles" series every Wednesday during the spring 2007 semester, taking pride in his ability to translate the seemingly unscholarly yet inspirational elements of the lives of faculty and staff at the university.

In his voyage to the more visual side of the newsroom, he pushed himself to find the perfect visual moment, whether it was on his own assignments or while helping others with theirs as photo editor during the fall 2007 semester.

We extend our condolences to Mr Rendleman's family, friends, and colleagues at the Daily Egyptian.