To the editor:

On July 21, at 7:45 p.m., I was driving my daughter and her friend home from Forest Lake. We were northbound on I-35, going 70 mph in the right lane.

I looked in my rear-view mirror to see a GMC Sierra speeding toward us. One second later, we had been hit.

The driver had swerved from around a driver in the left lane and tried to pass in between the two of us. We were pushed into the ditch, where we hung on in terror until we stopped. By the angle we entered the ditch and our speed, it is a miracle that we did not roll over.

The driver of the truck did not pull over until he saw a witness writing down his license plate. After I talked to police, first responders, and witnesses, the driver finally walked back to ask if anyone was hurt. I asked him why he did it. He said, ìI was just trying to pass you because you werenít doing the speed limit.î

Well, I was doing the speed limit. He, on the other hand, was traveling at unreasonably high speed. So high, that on a clear, dry day, he pushed another car off the road just because we werenít going fast enough for him.

To add insult to injury (something the Wyoming Police Chief said he didnít want to do to the at-fault driver ñ who had no injuries ñ but is apparently okay to do to the victims), no tickets were issued to this guy even though there were four witnesses to the crash and the driverís actions. To me, ramming into someone and having to be chased down before stopping constitutes a number of wrongs, including speeding, reckless driving, careless driving, and failure to stop. Instead, this driver does not have a ticket on his record to alert the police the next time he is caught speeding. Iím afraid next time he may kill someone.

My daughter and I continue to get medical treatment for thankfully only moderate injuries to our neck and shoulders. However, I have been off work dozens of hours for appointments and to get our vehicle back into driveable condition.

As a commuter, Iím asking all of you to please think about what you are doing every
second you are driving, especially on the freeway, where even seemingly minor accidents can cause serious injury or death. It isnít worth hurting someone to get where youíre going a few minutes
earlier.

Thank you to Tom and all of the wonderful people who stopped to assist. And to that truck driver: Thank you for making my daughter nervous to drive on the freeway, thank you for causing us hours of pain and paperwork, thank you for nearly killing us and not caring. I hope you think twice before trying to pass someone again, although I doubt you will.

G. C. McDonald
Stacy

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