The first message popped up in our database at 1:47 a.m.

Nearly 20 hours and 71 more comments later, it was clear that Thursday’s breaking news story would be the first test of the natchezdemocrat.com’s new comments section.

The story of a car speeding through the streets of Natchez and tragically falling 60 feet into the bayou along Briel Avenue in Natchez sat on our Web site for nearly two hours before one comment was made.

The details were few. The incident started at a local bar, involved a high-speed trip down John R. Junkin and ended with three passengers dead and the driver critically injured in the hospital.

The accident happened just before Thursday morning’s paper was being sent to the press.

I had heard sirens crossing through town and made the comment to my wife about how unusual they sounded.

Thinking little more of it I went to bed.

In the meantime, the news staff posted breaking news alerts on the site, giving the few details of the story.

Waking a little earlier than usual, I glanced at the newspaper’s Web site to find the “Breaking News,” tag at the top of the screen.

At 5:30 a.m. there was one tiny comment — nothing much.

But by the time I made it to our newsroom later Thursday morning, it was clear that the comments section was going to be active for this particular story.

And why wouldn’t it be? The story involved the tragic death of three young people. And more over, many questions were still unanswered.

Why were these young people speeding down the highway? Why was a 15 year-old allegedly outside a local bar, 30 miles from home? Why did the car drive over the edge of the bayou? Who or what is to blame?

It is human nature to ask these questions, to search for answers and seek out the truth.

When the world seems to be spiraling into chaos, most attempt to look for order.

Over the course of the day, online readers posted comment after comment, expressing their opinions about the tragedy.

By 9 p.m., more than 70 comments had been made about the tragedy.

Some quoted Bible verses. Some asked for prayer and guidance.

Others used the space to vent their anger at the situation, quickly, and maybe without thinking, pointing fingers at what they saw as the source of blame.

Many writers expressed their anger at those who were being disrespectful and unkind to families in the midst of the grieving process.

It was painful to read many of the comments posted on the Web site Thursday.

I did not personally agree with many of them and a few I thought came close to crossing the line that we set in our Web site’s terms of use agreement.

But when I stepped back for just a brief moment to look at the whole collection of comments, I saw a community in grief, trying to cope with a tragedy that offered few easy answers.

I received many phone calls Thursday from concerned readers who wanted many of the comments on our Web site removed. Some went so far as to say the entire comments feature of our site should be suspended.

I appreciate those points of view and I think they are all valuable.

What may be more valuable, though, is the space for people to join in a free discussion about the important aspects of our community.

Unfortunately, in times of tragedy and grief, such freedoms of speech can seem disrespectful and unfeeling, especially in the hyperspeed world of the Internet.

Reading the comments, Thursday I didn’t find any answers to the questions many are asking in this tragedy.

But collectively, I found in them hope that through conversation we as a community might come to a better understanding of who we are and where we want to be.

Ben Hillyer is the Web Editor at The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at ben.hillyer@natchezdemorcat.com.