I find myself thinking, "I should blog about this" just about every day of the week. Rarely does my motivation coincide with the inspiration. One thing on my mind right now is Natasha Pettigrew. She is a cyclist who was hit by an escalade. Christy Littleford, the driver, dragged her bicycle four miles to her home. The driver claims that she thought she hit a deer. It is impossible to not wonder whether she knew she had hit a person or not. This question is of the utmost importance. Important to Natasha's survival is that key fact. Important to Christy's innocence and continued freedom. The kind of woman I am is completely different from this woman. I would have stopped immediately to see what I was dragging. Of course, then again, maybe not. The horrible scraping noise of the bike would have been impossible to ignore and horrible to endure, even for a scant four miles. I entertain the notion that I would stop, but running home to my theoretical take charge husband, would be very appealing. Even ignoring everything would be appealing, in order to suspend reality.
Natasha's family and friends are grieving and lashing out for a sense of justice, which is harsher punishment for the driver. It is penalty enough to hit a person with your car and know that you caused their death. Not to mention the definite charge and future conviction of manslaughter. In the driver's defense, Natasha was not wearing reflective safety gear nor did her bicycle have a light attached to it. When riding in the darkness of dawn or dusk, reflective material or lights are essential. This is a tragic story, but there can be no proven malice or ill intent in the accident. Whether innocent or guilty of knowingly running down a person on a bicycle, Mrs. Littleford's conscience, knowledge, and regret will stand as punishment for a lifetime.
