I could be wrong, because it was a long time ago, but as I recall, not only was
Mr. King walking with his back to oncoming traffic, he was READING A BOOK WHILE
WALKING BESIDE THE HIGHWAY.
If my recollection is correct, and even granting the van driver was inattentive
for a moment and was what lawyers call the "proximate" cause of the accident, I
believe Mr. King bears a large share of the responsibility for his predicament,
and I think the fallout for the poor van driver was nothing less than
disgusting. The poor man eventually committed suicide.
But then Mr. King is not the only Mainer who walks on the wrong side of the
road. It never ceases to amaze me how many people up here walk with their backs
to traffic, and don't pay the least bit of attention to the sound of someone
approaching from their rear. I almost plowed into three people just after we
moved up here. It was dark and pouring rain, and I was heading home from the
little market a mile and a half south of here. As I approached the bridge over
Munro Brook, I thought I saw something that didn't quite look right in front of
me. I swerved into the other lane and counted three people walking in my lane
with their backs to me.
To this day I wonder if those folks ever realized how close to death they came
that night.
--Bob
On Sep 13, 2011, at 8:22 AM, John Hermanson wrote:
> Or Stephen King being almost killed by a van driver who was not paying
> attention.
--
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