Crash

Ordinarily we shy away from religion and politics here in Starts and Stops land, but today we're making an exception by calling your attention to an in-depth, web-only look at a tragic 1968 car accident involving a Mormon missionary named Mitt Romney, who, of course, went on to become governor of Massachusetts and is now a candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. Globe religion reporter Michael Paulson travelled to France to visit the site of the accident; he interviewed all of the surviving passengers in Romney's car, the son of a passenger who was killed in the accident, the doctor who flew over from the US to oversee Romney's care, and multiple people who responded to the accident in its immediate aftermath.

You can find the series here and there's also a video and a slideshow with amazing historic pictures of the crash and current pictures of the accident site.

And if you need another transportation-related reason to read the seven-part Romney series, coming Saturday, as part of a story reviewing Romney's tenure as governor, is a look at his handling of the Big Dig and other transportation issues.