On 1/15/20 a young woman, Grace Rett a member of a
Massachusetts rowing team was killed in a traffic accident right here in my hometown. She died instantly. Others on the team were injured, some seriously;
the horrific scene was described as looking like a war zone. The team's van
pulled in front of a pick-up truck while making a turn, both had the green
light!
Grace was a standout who set a world record for indoor
rowing just last month. In other words, someone with a bright future ahead now
cheated of it by death; even more tragic she had turned 20 years old just the
day before!
Reading this, I felt sick. I had just turned 69 only a week
to the day before this accident.
In 2000 when my father was handed a death sentence at age 85
after his cancer had spread. I asked, if 10 years ago someone had told him that
he'd outlive both Princess Diana and JFK Junior would he have believed
them?"
Why and when we are taken seems way too arbitrary. And many
of the most promising ones seem to be taken the earliest.
I am quite familiar with the spot where the accident
occurred. I've almost been whacked there myself a few times! For that reason I
refuse to make the turn from that direction even if it means driving out of my
way. Of course a driver from another state would be unfamiliar with this
intersection.
I'm just guessing, but I suspect the driver of the van
carrying the team expected the truck to stop or at least slow down instead of
plowing right ahead. But everything is still under investigation, perhaps no
one was fault!
From my own experience I've made left-hand turns immediately
after the light turned green while seeing another car in the distance thinking
we both had time to make it thru the intersection safely. However, instead of
slowing down the oncoming car shoots straight towards me at full speed blowing
its horn! It always astounds me why someone would risk my life and theirs just
to save a few minutes! Yet these fools are out there and they are legion!
And people wonder why I have anxiety attacks on the road and
freak out whenever I must drive to an unknown location! I know we all have a
death date tattooed on our souls, it's inevitable. But I don't want some
paramedic scraping me off the dashboard. So I continue to be cautious and drive
like the old lady I am. Unfortunately, sometimes you can do everything right
and still go wrong.
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