No single event - forest fire, blizzard, election or otherwise - has ever captured readers' attention in the same manner as the tragic double fatality in The Gap last Friday.

For the first time ever, a single event captured the top five stories of the week. And while analyzing how a single accident can so fully capture reader's attention is a bit besides the point, there are reasons it captured the top five spots of the past week.

There is, of course, the human element. Literally thousands of people joined in hoping and praying that, after it was already known that Dan Smith had died in the motorcycle-van collision Friday morning - critically injured Hunter Smith would somehow survive the accident. But it wasn't to be. A day later, he succumbed to the injuries suffered in the accident.

Initially, the story sparked strong interest merely for the fact that police had to shut down all traffic through the heavily traveled West Main portion of the Gap to reconstruct the accident and remove the vehicles. Readers checked in through the late morning and early afternoon to see when it would reopen.

Eventually, it did, but not before sparking a similar traffic jam on the Omaha Street side of the Gap and causing several more accidents, all of them of the non-injury variety.

From there sprang a debate about the safety of The Gap. It turns out the Smiths had collided with a vehicle that had pulled out of a business onto West Main, trying to cross the three lanes of eastbound traffic to get into the three westbound lanes of traffic.

On Monday, Mayor Alan Hanks informed the city council that he had instructed the city to review potential changes to the portion of West Main Street, including the merits of a raised median. Others discussed prohibiting right hand turns on red lights at the Jackson and West Main intersection. Others called for lower speed limits.

In the end, though, those discussions were drown out - at least this week - for a family in their time of grief. The story detailed how Jennifer Smith had to bid an all-too-soon farewell to a husband and son and how Hunter's brother Kain had left a note wishing Hunter well on his journey in the afterlife. "I love you and I hope you have fun in Heven."

Condolences from readers who had followed the story flowed through the usually much more callous Rapid Reply section. As the family grieved, it was clear many others joined them.

One reader's comment perhaps summed it up best. " This story broke my heart from day 1. Now, looking at the picture, seeing their faces - it breaks my heart all over again. I'm so sorry for your loss. Trusting that everything happens for a reason is so difficult in these times, yet we must believe it. Please take care and know that this whole city is crying with you. <3 "

Top Five Stories

1. One killed, another critically injured in motorcycle accident in the Gap

2. Funeral services held for father, boy killed in motorcycle collision in the Gap

3. Boy injured in motorcycle accident still in critical condition

4. 8-year-old dies of accident injuries

5. Accident closes The Gap; drivers told to take I-90 or Catron

Top Five Videos

RCPD: The Beat 7-20-09

The Beat continues to be the most popular video week to week. It's not exactly "C.O.P.S." but readers seem to like riding along with the Rapid City Police Department on their regular rounds.

Hedlunds Court

This video, shot by sports reporter Padraic Duffy to accompany his story on the role that basketball plays in the life of young people on Pine Ridge reservation, was a great complement to an excellent story.

Here Pastor Leon Matthews talks about Hedlunds Court in Pine Ridge and what basketball means to the kids who play there as action continues on behind him.

Rally Vendors Talk Business

That's right. It's almost Sturgis rally time.

And if the words offered up by at least one vendor here are correct, the 2009 version of the event could be much reduced from those of the past 18 years or so. One man who had attended Daytona Bike Week earlier this year said numbers were roughly half of last year. And that comes after numbers fell in Sturgis last year by 18 percent.

Perhaps this year, the rally would provide a better barometer on the nation's economy than those offered by Wall Street analysts and TV pundits.

Trooper Caught Fighting With Paramedic Suspended

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper caught on video cussing and fighting with the driver of an ambulance carrying a patient was enough to bring in some of the highest video views of the week.

The Trooper, who has been suspended for five days, was caught on the dashcam of the squad car, but its cell phone video of him putting an old school choke hold on the ambulance driver that provides most of the fireworks here.

Raw Video: Suicide Blast Caught on Tape

Raw video, indeed. Security camera footage at a hotel in Jakarta captures the moment one of two suicide bombers struck last Friday, killing eight and wounding more than 50.

Rapid Reply of the Week

It's been a record couple of weeks for Rapid Reply the past couple of weeks, with Greenpeace, race relations and other highly contentious stories taken center stage.

Unfortunately, contentious stories often acts as chum in the water for readers who then spill over to stories that are neither contentious or fodder for debate, resulting in a less than cheerful back-and-forth between readers.

At least one reader put out a plea that Rapid Reply be done away with completely, noting that things went along swimmingly before reader blogs came into existence.

The response, of course, came back with as stinging indictment against reader comments, Black Hills residents' mental state and the Journal.

It certainly didn't promote much civil discourse on the story to which it was attached, but it did contain my favorite line from a Rapid Reply. I'm even considering putting it on a T-shirt.

"Rapid Reply is going nowhere."

It's so true on so many levels.

Re Plea to RC Journal on 07/21/2009 08:37:19 said:

"By "blogs" I assume you're talking about Rapid Reply, which isn't technically a blog.

Regarding Rapid Reply, that will not disappear any time soon. The RCJ is incredibly fortunate that its readership is so opinionated and borderline insane after generations of generally isolating itself in the hills area. The result has been a population quick to rant and rave about almost anything, and that means a busy website. The advertising manager can then point to the amount of internet traffic while attempting to sell online ads. In short, web traffic potentially means money to a newspaper, and the people of the Black Hills area are perfect for that dynamic. Rapid Reply is going nowhere."

Poll of the Week

The week's earlier tragedy spurred the most response to our daily poll this week.

Should the city build a median on West Main in the Gap?

Yes

1180 77 percent

No

348 23 percent

Editor's Pick

The Home Work blog

No, it doesn't have anything to do with school work.

Online editorial assistant Crystal Hohenthaner offers up the inaugural post on a community blog designed to discuss the issues of being a stay-at-home mom or dad.

And no, she's not a stay at home mom or any other kind of mom, but she has been working closely with a group of Rapid City stay at home parents who promise to be logging in soon to share their opinions and views on what many consider the most underappreciated jobs out there.