Last Saturday, the Barony of Caerthe in the Kingdom of Outlands bid a final farewell to Brendon Swatko, a twelve-year-old who died after being struck by a car outside an SCA event. Brendon Swatko, age 10, was attending Caerthe's Baronial Yule event in modern-day Denver, Colorado (USA) on December 19. Outside the event, the boy ran into an intersection and was struck and killed by a vehicle. The driver of the car was arrested by police and is under investigation for a possible charge of vehicular homicide. The investigation results have not yet been released, but it is known that the driver was not an SCA participant. Officials said it is unclear why Brendon Swatko ran into the street.

Funeral services were held Saturday, December 27, at a nearby school gymnasium, and friends are coordinating a memorial fund to help Brendon's family.

THL Robert Marchet, Seneschal of the Barony of Caerthe, says the tragedy has been unusually difficult for this particular group to handle. "Most of our members are new enough they have never experienced the loss of part of their SCA family," he says, "and most of us are still trying to deal with it."

An official notice released by Marchet the day after the accident said, "It is with great sadness that I pass along tragic news in the Barony of Caerthe. Last night while attending Caerthen Baronial Yule the younger brother of Sean O'Brien was struck and killed by an automobile. The driver of the automobile is being held by Denver Police pending a criminal investigation."

The Denver Post published a short article about the accident in its daily "Metro Briefs" column. That article is linked above.

Editor's note: To protect the privacy of Brendon's family, SCAtoday.net is not publishing their contact information. Anyone wishing to send cards or memorial donations may contact publisher@scatoday.net to obtain the email address of Caertha's Seneschal, who can in turn put you in touch with the family.