While participating in Korean War veteran
John Fortier's peace vigil Friday afternoon, a perplexing event took
place.
John and I spoke with four boys on bikes, about
14 years of age, who were waiting to cross Pacific Coast Highway. When the
signal changed and the "Walk" sign was illuminated, they began to cross in the
crosswalk.
But a 40 ish woman driving a silver gray SUV with children in
the car made a left turn onto Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) as if the boys weren't
there. And she hit one. It crunched his bike and threw him on to street. The
other boys grouped around him and I immediately joined them.
I checked
with the boy she hit as he got up and felt his body and then he picked up his
bike. He insisted to me he was okay and that his bike was as well. I had my
phone out to call 911 to get him emergency medical care, but he again insisted
he was fine. The four boys then moved slowly to the other side of the
street.
Meanwhile, the driver from inside her car kept proclaiming how
sorry she was, adding the sun was in her eyes and she hadn't seen the boys as
she had begun her left turn. I blocked her path, which stopped the traffic and I
called out to the boy she hit who again insisted he was okay.
As traffic
remained at a standstill on busy PCH, someone began to honk, I finally stepped
back and let her finish her left turn as she drove off and the intersection
cleared. When I rejoined John he said that despite what the 14 year old boy
said, she had no right to leave without giving us her information.
As the
four boys stood and talked on the other side of the street, I decided to check
on them again and crossed the street at the first opportunity. There a woman,
about 45, who has two teenage sons, had pulled over and was gently checking on
the boys, and also telling them they should have gotten the driver's
information.
I checked with the boy who had been hit, who still insisted
he was okay. But I saw the scratches on his beautiful bike and offered to pay to
have the bike repaired. He declined.
When I rejoined John, I told him
what happened, and said when I was that boy's age, I probably would have said
the same thing he did.
But a little while later, I regretted not getting
the driver's information, if for no other reason, I could have given it to
the boy to share with his parents. After all, he is about 14 and I am 67 years
of age and I know better.
However, what really mattered was that no-one
was seriously hurt, and from that woman driving her SUV into one of the boys and
nearly into the others, someone might even have been killed.
Dick
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