Open Letter to the Motorist Who Hit a Young Girl Riding Her Bike

Dear Motorist,

We learned only the aftermath of your deplorable behavior in New Hartford on the evening of July 7, 2020. If we'd actually SEEN it occur, this letter might not be necessary, because law enforcement officials would have contacted you.

While driving along Paris Road on a beautiful night, at around 6:30 PM, under bright blue skies, with brilliant sunshine, here's what we saw: A young lady along the shoulder of the road, pushing her bicycle by the handle bars, the back wheel incapicitated and locked in place as the result of a recent mishap.

After a few seconds, we circled back to see if we could be of any assistance. We asked the young lady: Do you need anything? Can we help you fix your bike? Can we give a you a ride? WHAT happened? Her story was unbelievable.

She'd just been struck by a car. The impact had damaged her bicycle and thankfully left her uninjured.

Here's why we're writing to you. The young teenager told us you didn't even STOP.

What kind of cretin does something like that? Why didn't you pull over and check on the young lady you hit? Really? You just kept driving? On what planet is that acceptable?

Hey, mistakes can happen. She explained to us, very nicely, that perhaps you had failed to look carefully in each direction as you made your way through the intersection of Paris Road and Route 12, and so you didn't even see her. Bad enough. But certainly you FELT your car hit something.

Next time, you might want to pay closer attention to your driving. And...if you happen to hit one of your fellow humans...it might be a good idea to pull over and check on them. If this letter finds you, please feel free to respond here.