Posted by So Sad, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 24, 2012 at 11:28 pm

Such sad and tragic news. Our deepest condolences to the Tandel family.

Posted by saleha, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 12:56 am

So sad, this is very tragic for this family. Condolences. But Palo Alto online, the mom can't be 34 because that would mean she was 14 years old when she had her first daughter. Please confirm that's not true.

Posted by saleha, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 12:59 am

Correction, that would mean she was 10 when she had her first child. She has to be in her 40s.

Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 5:37 am

Stepmother perhaps?

Posted by JW, a resident of Mountain View, on Nov 25, 2012 at 6:21 am

So incredibly tragic. Sadly preventable with seat belts.

I was thinking stepmom as well. If the mom is 34 she can't possibly have a 24 or 22 year old.

Posted by tired of the BS, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 25, 2012 at 8:56 am

From how I read the article, I believe all of the women were sisters. A husband and wife and his four sisters.

Posted by Sad, a resident of the Evergreen Park neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 7:58 pm

My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy. I see sooo many vehicles with toddlers, young children, even teenagers without seatbelts on. Kids jumping around in back seats, standing on back seats watching traffic as it goes by. Please, buckle up your children and MAKE them stay in the safety belts. Love them. Protect them.

Posted by Sadder, a resident of the Southgate neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 9:26 pm

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by Consumerism Got'em, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 11:30 pm

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by interested , a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 5:49 am

san jose mercury reported that chp officer was parallel parked! did this reduce the width of the lane where accident occurred?

Posted by Ducatigirl, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 8:48 am

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by Tragic News, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 9:14 am

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 9:45 am

@Tragic >> outta be a law that stores cannot open for business between 1AM-5AM

Those are my preferred shopping hours. No crowd at Safeway.

Why don't you just suggest a comprehensive curfew or martial law?

Posted by Tragic News, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 10:42 am

@Musical: Yes, a comprehensive curfew is a great idea! Nothing good happens in the wee hours. Parents of teens would love it. And if you shop at Safeway at Midnight or 5AM, doubtful there are crowds.

Posted by Sad in PA, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 11:09 am

A family has lost two children, this is a terrible tragedy, and some of you feel it's okay to speculate about why they were driving and judge them, as if they somehow deserved it. Shame on you.

It is a lesson in how important it is to buckle up for the rest of us. Given the ages of the sisters, they were old enough to know they needed to buckle up.

@Sadder - Accidents are called accidents because people make mistakes, no matter how much you educate them. Preventing accidents through education is important as you suggest, but you can't prevent all accidents, and making accidents more survivable IS important, buckling up is the first and easiest step. We need to buckle up not because an accident is likely but because the risk of injury or death if one does happen is so markedly reduced. Here, the occupants made a mistake as well as the driver. It's tragic, that is all. The lesson is to do what we already know, which is buckle up. And treasure every day.

Posted by Don't Judge, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 11:38 am

While I don't suggest going crazy with the Black Friday sales, and surely wouldn't recommend going out in the wee hours to shop, this family was shopping for gifts that there were going to bring to India for the eldest daughter's wedding (as opposed to being consumed by the materialistic culture). Please do not judge.

Every related article I read listed the wife's age at 34. The Palo Alto online article did say his wife and his (not their) 4 daughters. She's likely a step-mom.