Check Out the Misleading NY Post Headline About a Beloved Long Island Veteran Killed by Speeding Criminal

Vietnam War veteran Peter Morris, 80, had just left his granddaughter's elementary school, where he'd attended a commemoration ceremony. He got into his car when, moments later, he was hit by Randy Colon, a 24-year-old driving a stolen Nissan.

Morris' car was pushed onto the school's lawn and he died of his injuries.

Beloved Long Island veteran killed by stolen car just moments after visiting granddaughter at school https://t.co/9qVOKRjwtc pic.twitter.com/R655AG6XLR
— New York Post (@nypost) November 9, 2025

Here's more:

A beloved Long Island veteran tragically died after being struck by a stolen car mere moments after leaving a commemoration at his granddaughters elementary school.
Vietnam War veteran Peter Morris, 80, had just climbed into his car outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School in South Farmingdale just before noon Friday, when a stolen Nissan driven by 24-year-old Randy Colon slammed into him at full speed.
Morris’ car was thrown smoking onto the school lawn, while Colon spilled out of his car and attempted to flee on foot.

Colon was later apprehended by law enforcement.

But what we want to focus on here is the wording choice of the headline. This is yet another example of the media wording the headline so it sounds like the car, and not the criminal behind the wheel, is responsible for the death of Peter Morris.

When an Islamic-state jihadist killed ten people in New Orleans during the early hours of New Year's Day, the AP headline read "a vehicle drove into a crowd" on Bourbon Street. They did the same thing after a driver plowed into a crowd outside a L.A. nightclub. It's not just the media, either. When a terrorist drove into a crowd in Munich earlier this year, the Munich Security Conference said "a vehicle drove into a crowd of people" in a post on X. When Darrell Brooks drove through the Waukesha Christmas Parade in 2021, the headlines read "SUV ploughed" into the crowd.