First American astronaut to lose a close family member while in space
Daniel Tani "has lost the person who has been his inspiration for most of his life," said Rev. Rob Hatfield, Rose Tani died December 19 when a train struck her car. Daniel Tani, 46, who is aboard the international space station, could not travel back for the service at his mother's church, First Church of Lombard, and sent a video message.
Rose Tani was remembered as a woman who braved a U.S. World War II internment camp, raised her children after her husband's death and worked in a school cafeteria until she was 70. Police said Rose Tani stopped behind a school bus at a railroad crossing and then drove around the vehicle, bypassing the lowered crossing gate. A train struck the passenger side of her vehicle and pushed it down the tracks before stopping. NASA has said Daniel Tani is believed to be the first American astronaut to lose a close family member while in space.
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This is certainly a very sad story, but I hope everyone takes the very valuable lesson from it in HOW she died. She swerved around a school bus which had stopped at a railroad crossing and was struck by the train. We need to pay more attention to the older generations' driving habits and qualifications.