Ryan References Marlborough Crash During VP Debate

During the vice presidential debate on Thursday night, Republican candidate Paul Ryan referenced Mitt Romney in an effort to shed some light on the "real guy" behind the politics. 

The comments referenced a crash that occurred in 1995 in Marlborough, paralyzing two brothers from Northborough. Ryan said he talked to the Nixon family recently.

Ryan remarked (and the transcript can be found here), "He talks about Detroit. Mitt Romney’s a car guy. They keep misquoting him, but let me tell you about the Mitt Romney I know. This is a guy who ... I was talking to a family in Northborough, Massachusetts the other day, Sheryl and Mark Nixon. Their kids were hit in a car crash, four of them. Two of them, Rob and Reed, were paralyzed. The Romneys didn’t know them. They went to the same church; they never met before.

"Mitt asked if he could come over on Christmas. He brought his boys, his wife, and gifts. Later on, he said, 'I know you’re struggling, Mark. Don’t worry about their college. I’ll pay for it.' When Mark told me this story, because, you know what, Mitt Romney doesn’t tell these stories. The Nixons told this story. When he told me this story, he said it wasn’t the help, the cash help. It’s that he gave his time, and he has consistently."

Reed and Robert Nixon, who lived in Northborough and attended Algonquin Regional High School, broke their necks in a crash in 1995 when the two were driving a van full of family members home from a church meeting. As reported in the Worcester Telegram, the crash left the two quadriplegics, when the van flipped over on Wilson Street near Route 20 in Marlborough.

The Washington Post, in August, featured "An Appeal to See Romney's Softer Side."

"Enter Mitt Romney," reads the Post article, "On Christmas Eve, the Romney family showed up at the Nixon home unannounced, bearing large boxes full of gifts, including a stereo system, VCR and a generous check for Rob, Reed and the entire Nixon family."