Quote Originally Posted by blueskies View Post
Mr. Silver,

I hesitate to write, because I don't think my ability to express what's in my heart is quite up to the job... but I'll try...

You are the husband of a woman who was riding for a short period of time with a man who was suddenly and unexpectedly killed in a tragic accident. She is the mother of a teen-ager who was at fault for killing the man. Really try and put yourself in her shoes. As devastating as this was for Silver, as a near-witness and companion, how devastating would it be to be the young driver who killed this man?

I, personally, know a very good man who killed a pedestrian. The victim was an elderly woman with mental problems who just stepped out into traffic. The driver wasn't at fault, couldn't have stopped, and *still*, needed counseling and medication to move on with his life. A friend's niece left college with PTSD after her experience riding in a car that struck a pedestrian, and she wasn't even the driver. It's a terrible, terrible thing to take a life through your negligence & be completely powerless to ever undo it.

Think about what this experience was like for Silver, at the time, and over the last year. Her connection to the victim, was very short and limited, and yet this was a life-changing experience for her.

Think about that boy... what has this year been like for him? Of course his mother's heart aches for him.

Is she handling it well? In those moments when she spoke to your group, it sounded like she was trying to ask for mercy... not very skillfully, not with the ability to really listen to your perspective... but to me, she sounds like a mother whose heart is breaking.

I support the group that are putting up the "Share the Road" signs. I support tougher sentencing for negligent drivers. I support improving transportation infrastructure in ways that make it safer for cyclists & drivers to share roads. I support the right of the grieving to mourn. And I still have compassion for this mother & this young man.

Blueskies
I think what Blueskies is saying is really important. It's much like what I would have wished to say, but she did it better than I could have.