Sundays with Sondheimer: Regaining faith after tragedy

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On Sundays this summer, I’m presenting my favorite videos from those I’ve shot over the last three years and telling the back story.

One of the most emotional videos I shot involved Kyle Merrill, a football player at Los Angeles Cathedral. On his 15th birthday, while traveling in the back seat of a car, there was an accident, and three passengers in the car died, including Merrill’s brother, Matthew. Merrill was injured but survived.

In 2009, I went to Cathedral to speak with Merrill, who had become a standout for the Phantoms.

How did he regain his faith after such a horrific tragedy? How did he overcome his grief? How did he decide to return to school?

The video is entitled, ‘Tragedy and Triumph.’

-- Eric Sondheimer