The Glade 4.0

Outside of the building I work in there was an accident Thursday morning.

Two little old Asian ladies were going over to the nearby church, crossing K street at 17th, in the crosswalk. A driver in his Toyota SUV had the sun in his eyes, going east on K Street at 8:40 in the morning. He hit both of the ladies, both were in critical condition last I heard. Rumors abound, on Friday we heard everything from both had died to both were okay. We don't even know their names and the hospital won't release anything without at least that much information.

The driver was reportedly speeding, that is common along there. At this point in time, yes, at 8:40 a.m. he probably still had the sun in his eyes, that street leads right towards the rising sun.

His windshield was filthy, on the inside, according to a witness. That would exacerbate the sun blind aspect.

One of the ladies at work was a witness and had what appeared to be a mild heart attack and was taken out on a gurney also headed for the hospital. She will be off for at least a couple of weeks most likely.

What am I hearing at work - that poor guy, he's going to have to live with this the rest of his life. Apparently he sat on the curb and cried while the ladies were being cared for and put into ambulances. He didn't even argue with the police when they arrested him. It was a true accident. He didn't mean to hit anyone.

Bullshit.

It was an eminently avoidable accident. He could have kept his windshield clean, driven at the speed limit, or under it since the sun was in his eyes. He could have slowed down for the intersection. He could have been more aware, driven more intelligently. He may not have meant to hit anyone but he wasn't driving like he cared, until it happened.

But no, he's the one getting the sympathy.

If one or both of the old ladies dies, he's down for vehicular manslaughter, and deserves it. Even if both survive he is guilty of hitting them and causing serious injury.

Sometimes I think it isn't so much people not being responsible or accountable for their own actions, but it is everyone around them not letting them take responsibility or let them be held responsible for their own actions.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Most people feel compassion for those that make mistakes. I feel bad for him. Yes it's his fault, yes he could have avoided it. It doesn't sound like he's a bad person, though, he just screwed up. It was a relatively minor mistake, easily avoidable, that cost two individuals HUGE. And yes, that is going to screw up his life, too. I suspect he's a good person, and feels terrible about his mistake.

I hope the ladies recover and get the care they need. I hope the gentlemen finds forgiveness in himself.

You are right Aethien, it is human nature. I think it is also at least partially a way of not thinking about what happened to the two old ladies. No one wants to dwell on people being struck down by a car.

He stopped, he seemed to feel remorse immediately. Other than saying the sun was in his eyes and he didn't see them he reportedly made no other excuses for his action.

At least he didn't hit and run. That shows some degree of character. This indicates he was being rational and realizing he had to face the consequences, whether it was truly remorse or awareness that running wouldn't help and would hurt him in court I can't say. My beef isn't totally with him, though I think he was an idiot driving with that much glare that he could easily have done something about. The majority of my beef is with the people trying to make excuses for him.

My concern is with the two old ladies he hit, I don't know them but I've seen them around. I think they live at the Senior Citizens home across the street from where I work. I've stood in line behind them at the CVS in the neighborhood. Now because this man was in a hurry and couldn't be bothered to keep a clean windshield and follow the speed laws for the street, they are seriously hurt, maybe dead. And he gets the sympathy.

It could just as easily been one of us who work in the building. I wonder where their sympathies would lie if it had been.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Sad story all around, and an unfortunate reminder of two of our most defining human traits: Our mortality and our fallibility.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Michael, I sincerely hope you are wrong when you say "he gets the sympathy". I feel bad for him, but that is obviously dwarfed in comparison for the ladies. I hope that is the case around your office.

Oh, and hit and run drivers can die in a **** fire.