Citizenship 101

A friend of mine picked up my son and two other boys from football practice today. On their way home, my friend was accelerating along the frontage road (three lanes wide and one way) to enter the highway when in the far right lane a pickup truck zorched past them at a guesstimated 20 mph faster than my friend. Problem is, a woman had pulled out of a side street well before said pickup truck and was just getting herself to the speed limit.

The yahoo in the pickup continued accelerating toward her and then quick-stopped in an intimidating fashion, but he didn't quick stop soon enough and struck her bumper.

My friend, my son, and the two other boys witnessed this as they accelerated onto the highway.

As they merged with the traffic, my friend continued to look over his shoulder at the mishap. The woman's car had stopped and the pickup turned onto a side street. Dilemma. The boys were all eager to get home, my son wanting to attend the junior high school football game tonight. My friend wrestled with what he should do. They'll probably take care of it themselves. Right? You know, maybe he didn't hit her. Right?

"Boys, I'm going to turn around and see what happened," he declared, and the boys all seemed cool with the decision. Three minutes later, they were back on the scene.

The scrawny gent from the pickup was pretty much in the woman's face, threatening her because it was her fault that he hit her from behind. She was sure to be ticketed, he intimidated. "Um, that's not what happened or will happen," said my friend. "Have you called the police yet?"

"That won't be necessary," suggested the scrawny man.

"Yes, it will," countered my friend as he punched 9-1-1 into his cell phone. "You always need to contact the police when there is an accident."

"Well, she stopped right in front of me!" scrawny blustered.

"No, sir," my friend once again countered, "You flew past me doing well beyond the speed limit and rear ended that lady."

The scrawny man went to an adjacent house where his friend who had been in the truck lived.

"Thank you for stopping," said the woman trembling. "I've never been hit before and I didn't know what to do. He started threatening me and telling me it was all my fault. He said I'd have to pay and would likely have to go to jail."

What a smudge, thought my friend about Mr. Scrawny.

Soon the police arrived and took my friend's information and statement and sent them on their way. The whole thing took ten to fifteen minutes.

If you ask me, my son and those boys could not have gotten a better civics lesson.

1. When you see an accident, stop to a) render assistance, and b) offer yourself as a witness.
2. When you see an accident, notify the police. You never know when the innocent will be turned on by the guilty.
   

That poor woman could have been intimidated into paying for her own fender, and another smudge would have won the day. Let's hear it for a little exercised citizenship!