Twenty-five years ago I would’ve considered what happened last Friday just a case of bad timing. A runner or jogger was struck by a car, and the driver was allegedly intoxicated at the time of this accident.
Twenty-five years ago I was also an alcoholic who thought it had to have been the other person’s fault. That she ran out into the street causing this poor driver to lose control, swerve into a tree and hit the runner to avoid hitting her directly. And, that he had to flee the scene to get his thoughts gathered.
Now that I’m over twenty years sober, I’m seeing everything differently now. Now I’m seeing this as much a case of making horrible choices and poor judgements. This seventeen-year-old boy, who either stole the alcohol or had an older person buy it for him, knew full well the consequences that would result.
The accident itself was early Friday morning at 5:30. The victim was a well-known person in the Spokane community with ties to numerous local clubs and agencies, including CFO for CHAS health a local co-op that serves the needy, homeless and ALICE residents in Spokane.
I’ll let my own readers draw their own conclusions on whether this was more than a mere hit and run involving an underaged drinker and a woman jogging in a quiet residential neighborhood.
Jerry Schellhammer 