A letter to the person who almost killed us

Dear Editor,

I was ready for you today because I was lucky enough to out manoeuvre a head-on crash caused by a young male talking on a phone two years ago.

Today, I met you on Simcoe St, north of Manilla around 4:30 p.m. Why you caught my attention, I will never know. But as you came northbound towards us, you began to drift towards the yellow line. Nothing drastic, but I could now see your head was looking down, so I moved to the gravel.

As you sped past us, you where still looking at your phone and texting. Were you telling a loved one you were almost there, or just checking your email?

I want you to know who you almost killed. My daughter and I were heading home from another great girls’ day out with family. My baby girl just celebrated her 24th wedding anniversary and my hubby and I our 50th. She has two children. She is an EA that works in our school system with autistic children. Me, I have four children, but hubby and I lost our first child to crib death 50 years ago.

As I sit here and write this letter to you, I wonder, if you had killed us all today, how many people would that have devastated? You weren’t the only one.

On the rest of the drive home, we saw a driver crest a steep hill riding over the yellow line and two more who crossed the line into oncoming traffic and countless drivers following too close.

Just know when you finally kill some one, and you will if you don’t put your phone down, you’re killing a person that matters in this world, your world, because if you survive, you will have to live with that fact for the rest of your life.

Sincerely and with all my heart,

Shirley Spicer