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Photo Captures Angel at Horrific Accident Site

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Angel encounters captured within a photograph or on video footage, although still uncommon, are a lot easier to obtain today because of the advanced technology. Virtually any individual with a smart phone can instantly snap a photo, preserving almost immediately whatever subject of interest they’re photographing.

However, capturing a photo of a “reputed angel” at a crash site 30 years ago is indeed an extremely rare occurrence. The first responders on scene were able to capture the illuminated figure while photographing the accident scene, hours after the accident occurred, still hovering near the scene.

The dreadful auto accident took place on a cold fall evening in November, 1988. Then 58-year-old Rose Benvenuto of Poughquag, N.Y., was driving on the New York State Highway when a stray dog suddenly darted onto the throughway out of the darkness. Benvenuto instinctively swerved her auto away from the dog, while simultaneously losing control of the vehicle.

Benvenuto, now in her 70’s recalls, “I was swerving and the air-bag inflated. I cannot remember much else.”

Only that the photos of the wreckage taken by first responders that night would suggest to anyone viewing those pictures that it would be near impossible for anyone to survive the wreck, let alone walk away without a scratch. “It’s a miracle I did survive,” Rose said.

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First responder Sharon Boo from the Pawling Fire Department was at the accident site that night, tasked with chronicling the event through a series of photographs.

Sharon, an accomplished photographer, photographed the mangled wreckage from all angles as required by investigators. However, when Sharon retrieved the photo prints, one photograph stood out above the others. It was of an illuminated human form that appeared to have wings hovering off to the side of the wreckage.

When confronted by the startling photo, Benvenuto acknowledged that she felt confident that the image in the picture was that of an angel. More to the point, she thought it was a protective spirit that spared her from serious, if not fatal consequences. The car was totaled and anyone seeing the wreckage would immediately assume that whoever was in the auto could not have survived.

After viewing the 35mm film negative, along with the finished prints, Sharon said, “I have taken hundreds and hundreds of photographs and I have never come across anything like this.”

Through the years, the auto accident and the photo has gained notoriety, thanks in part to ghost writers like Jim Eaton who actually did some investigative reporting on the event by actually examining the original negative to see if there was any fraud involved.

Here is Eaton’s observation; “When I first viewed this photo back in 1999, I was sure the driver had died and was now standing beside the car as a ghost. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was completely wrong. The driver, Rose Benvenuto had swerved to avoid hitting a dog and wrecked her car. According to the report, she was taken to the hospital but later released with only an arm injury.

“I did some research and found Sharon Boo, and sure enough, that really is her name! We conversed on the phone and she assured me that this was a true event and that the photograph and negative do exist. She also agreed to send me the negatives for examination, which I received. I had copies made from the negatives and sure enough, the image is on the negative and did show up in the developed photos! I actually had Wal-Mart develop the photos from the negatives and they did it within one hour.

“We can now prove that the negative associated with this photo does indeed contain the spirit image and we have more of the story to share including additional pictures from the accident scene… and more!”