Wednesday, July 3, 2002

An open letter to a hit-and-run driver:

My wife and I met you at about 9:30 last Thursday night. We had been visiting my mother down in Barnesville, showing her our new motorcycle, and were only about a mile or so from home.

We were both very proud of our bike a Harley Davidson Firefighter edition Electra Glide and were anxious to show it off to Mom. She had been hearing us talk about the new "baby" since we ordered it in February, and had been almost as excited as we were when it finally arrived last week.

As we approached our turn at the corner of Ebenezer Church and Lester roads, I saw your headlights approaching us from behind at a high rate of speed. I had hoped that you would see my turn signal and slow down, knowing that we would be out of your way in a moment, allowing you to speed on to whatever destination it was that merited such recklessness.

But you didn't slow down. You began tailgating, coming frighteningly close to hitting us. As I slowed and began my turn, I was horrified to catch a peripheral glance of your vehicle as you moved out to pass us, as we were turning left.

I assume that you were just in too big a hurry to wait those final few seconds that would have seen us safely out of your way. The next thing I remember, I found myself lying in the road, watching as you slowed, stopped, and then accelerated off into the night, leaving my wife and me to lie bleeding in the street.

I cannot describe to you how I felt when I crawled over to where my beautiful wife lay, crying out in pain from her shattered leg. Several good Samaritans stopped and offered their assistance, helping to shelter her from the rain.

I know that it was only a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity before the ambulance arrived. I have been a firefighter-paramedic for over 19 years, but I only now understand why people sometimes say, "It seemed like it took you forever to get here." Now I know just how much your perception of time changes when something like this happens to you, or to those you love.

My family and I must now deal with the aftereffects of our encounter with you that night. Your impatience and your recklessness have left my wife with a leg held together with screws and a plate. She is going to endure months of physical therapy just to be able to walk unassisted, so her inability to return to work will soon force us to make some difficult financial decisions.

I can only hope that the information that I gave to police will help them find you. I'm sure that you had at least some damage to your vehicle, probably in the right front quarter panel. I have paint from your car on my motorcycle, so I'm assuming that you have red paint from my bike on your fender. I hope that you'll think about what you've done each and every time you look at that damage.

If I could talk to you now, face to face, I'd ask you why? Why were you in such a hurry? Why were you willing to endanger all of our lives just to gain a few extra seconds? Were you drunk? Was it worth it? Was it worth the pain and anguish that you have caused not only us, but our families as well? And finally, how could you drive off and leave two people bleeding in the road? How could you?

Mark D. Poole

Fayette

Back to Opinion Home Page | Back to the top of the page