On Dec. 10, a Thursday, just after 4 p.m., my wife and I barely escaped a head-on crash by a distracted driver. For ease of reporting this incident the driver shall hereinafter be called “he.”

The distracted driver was going north on Route 201, at approximately 55 to 60 miles per hour, near the Hinckley school, in a maroon or red car. He was very likely distracted by calling, texting or surfing on a cellphone and failed to notice that the road curved slightly to the right. His car was drifting directly into our southbound lane, the length of a football field from us in our black Subaru Outback.

I have identified our car so the distracted driver will recall the incident. Had I not instantly swerved onto the shoulder to avoid the imminent head-on crash, the distracted driver, my wife and I would likely be dead now. At the last second before the crash, the distracted driver swerved back into the northbound lane, narrowly avoiding sideswiping our car.

Had the other driver sideswiped our car, he, my wife and I would at the least be in the hospital right now.

His negligence would have cost him and us thousands of dollars and months of recovery.

I hope this distracted driver will long remember this close call with death and destruction. I also hope he will avoid cellphone distractions and pay attention to driving so that other drivers will not be killed by his negligence.

He may not be so lucky the next time he glances away from driving to look at his cellphone. The next driver in the oncoming lane may not be able to react quickly enough, as I did, and the distracted driver will either be killed or will kill someone else.

Jim Chiddix

Waterville


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