An Open Letter To the Driver in Sebago Who Almost Killed Us

Dear Driver of the Jeep on Route 107 in Sebago at 6:10pm on May 31,

You might have noticed us as you crested that hill on Route 107. My 12-year-old son and I were on our way to our weekly pinball league. Jake just started playing in league and he loves it. He's pretty good too. Last week he even gave me this design he made for a Metroid pinball machine.

Pretty impressive for a 12-year-old. He's also a pretty good player. He outscored the three adults he was playing with and is well on his way to qualify for the finals. To say he's excited is an understatement. He said to me one day after playing that he really likes competitive pinball because he gets to meet new people and it's something that we can bond with as father and son.

You almost managed to take all that happiness away from him with your careless driving choice.

As we both crested each side of that hill on Route 107 in Sebago, in the blink of an eye I saw you in my lane as you quickly maneuvered around the car you wanted to pass in a no passing zone. We missed colliding but what appeared to be a few feet.

It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. I've never been more scared in my life, because if the timing of your dangerous move was off by a mere second, we could have collided head on at 45 miles per hour.

Well no, that's not entirely accurate now is it? I was doing the speed limit, but it's likely you were not, so the impact would likely have been even worse and very likely deadly if not life changing.

Your impatience to get to where you were going almost turned a son who loves playing pinball with his dad into a fatherless child. You almost made a father who loves to see the smile on his son's face when he hands me his pinball design, never see that smile again. You almost took both our lives leaving an entire extended family without two people they love dearly. You could have taken your own life.

I'm writing this through tears right now thinking of what might have been. Am I thankful that the dire outcome was avoided? Absolutely. But one second. Just one second and it would all be a different story.

Your name would be all over the news, and if you survived, you would have to live with that guilt for the rest of your life, all because the car in front of you was going too slow for you.

I'm happy that everyone, including you, is okay. I hope you see this letter and it makes you stop to think for a moment about what you did and ask yourself, "Is saving a minute or two of travel time more important than other people's lives? Or yours?"

I hope you answered no. For your life and everyone else's on the road.