Editing Harry Chapin (section)

== Death ==
[[File:Harrychapingravesite.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|Gravestone in the Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington, New York]]
On the afternoon of July 16, 1981, Chapin was driving on the [[Interstate 495 (New York)|Long Island Expressway]] en route to perform at a free [[benefit concert]] at Lakeside Theater<ref>
*https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/24/nyregion/the-region-theater-named-fo-r-harry-chapin.html
*https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/nyregion/summer-activities-light-up-the-isle.html
*https://www.liherald.com/stories/long-island-musicians-to-pay-tribute-to-harry-chapin,26642
*https://web.archive.org/web/20230826211156/https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/harry-chapin-bruce-blakeman-lxjj5fir
</ref> at [[Eisenhower Park]] in [[East Meadow, New York]], that evening. At 12:27&nbsp;p.m. Chapin had reportedly put on his emergency flashers, decelerated his vehicle's speed to {{Convert|15|mph|abbr=on}}, and had weaved from the far-left lane to the center lane, to the left lane, and then back to the center lane before his vehicle was struck from behind by a [[semi-trailer truck]]. The force of the collision crushed the rear of the car, ruptured the fuel tank, and dragged the car several hundred feet on the pavement. Passersby managed to help the unconscious Chapin out of his engulfed 1975 [[Volkswagen Golf Mk1#Volkswagen Rabbit/Golf (U.S.A./Canada)|Volkswagen Rabbit]]. Chapin was immediately taken by helicopter from the crash site outside [[Jericho, New York]], to the nearby [[Nassau University Medical Center|Nassau County Medical Center]], where he was pronounced dead at 1:05&nbsp;p.m. due to [[internal bleeding]].<ref name=obitNYT>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/17/obituaries/harry-chapin-singer-killed-in-crash.html |title=Harry Chapin, Singer Killed in Crash |first=John |last=Rockwell |date=July 17, 1981 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/07/17/Singer-songwriter-Harry-Chapins-drivers-license-was-revoked-at-the/6052364190400/ |title=Singer-songwriter Harry Chapin's driver's license was revoked at the... |last=Logeman|first=Henry|date=July 17, 1981|publisher=UPI|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>

Chapin's widow won a $12 million decision in a negligence lawsuit against [[Pathmark|Supermarkets General]], the owners of the truck involved.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19861008&id=yk1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=4236,2334908 |title=Singer Chapin's Widow to Give Lawsuit Funds to Hunger Battle |via=Google News Archive Search |website=Wilmington Morning Star |agency=Associated Press }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Chapin is buried in the Huntington Rural Cemetery in [[Huntington, New York]]. His [[epitaph]] is taken from his 1978 song "I Wonder What Would Happen to This World":

{{poemquote|
Oh if a man tried
To take his time on Earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
I wonder what would happen 
to this world}}