God’s Grace: Injured Husband Finds New Purpose After Wife’s Unexpected Death

Editor’s note: The following article appeared in the March 25, 2007 issue of TPE. On Sept. 10, 2007, James John Tingle, was sentenced to three to six years in prison upon being convicted of homicide by vehicle while driving a vehicle under the influence in connection with the death of Linda Whited. Tingle received concurrent terms for two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI.

Meanwhile, James Whited, who wears a leg brace and uses a cane, says he continues to miss his wife immensely. He is preparing for ordination next spring and plans to travel as an evangelist in a motor home. His son Jim Jr. is in college in Williamsport. Pa., studying computers. Daughter Chrissy is in 10th grade.

By John W. Kennedy

James R. Whited Sr. still hobbles with a leg brace. Pain flairs where tendons no longer exist. He suffered permanent damage in what remains a weak left ankle. He has no sensation in the bottom of his foot. Steel plates are inserted in his left arm and hip.

Emotionally, Whited has a difficult time retelling the events that changed his family forever. What troubles him most is the loss of Linda, his wife of 23 years.

On Dec. 4, 2005, Whited drove his wife and two children among the picturesque rolling mountains in central Pennsylvania en route to the Sunday evening service at Gospel Tabernacle, the Philipsburg Assemblies of God church where they are members. An oncoming car driven by Brandi Markel had stopped on U.S. Route 322 to make a turn. In the wintry dark Whited saw a speeding Ford F250 pickup truck driven by James Tingle hit Markel’s vehicle from behind. Markel’s car traveled 120 feet, but she miraculously escaped injury.

However, Tingle’s truck came into Whited’s lane and struck his vehicle head-on. The truck hit with such ferocity that the crushed dashboard pinned Jim and Linda in the front seat.

Whited’s Kia Sportage caught fire and filled with black smoke. John Taylor, driving in the car behind the Whiteds, smothered the flames with a fire extinguisher he carried in his auto. Meanwhile, a passer-by broke out a rear passenger window to free son Jim Whited Jr., then 17. Jim Jr. crawled out, then collapsed. The other backseat passenger, daughter Chrissy, then 13, emerged with only a bruise on her leg.

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