Jim VanNest, a recently retired municipal executive, lives in Windham.

Their names were Jim and Erin. That doesn’t really matter, because they were as anonymous to us as they were almost certainly anonymous to each other until their lives intersected on a Friday afternoon on Roosevelt Trail in Windham. There, between McDonald’s and Burger King, on a pleasantly bright and warm late afternoon in summer, they interacted briefly in yet another very American tragedy.

Jim had apparently just left his nearby apartment, driving his silver sedan west on 302 headed toward Raymond. It was five minutes to 2. We don’t know if Jim was late for an appointment, maybe heading to a job interview, or going to meet with his divorce lawyer. But he was there at that moment.

Erin had a motorcycle. In truth, it looked more like a motorbike, just an inexpensive way to get around. We don’t know and likely will never know why Erin was there and where he was going. Maybe he too was late for an appointment or just lost in his own thoughts as he navigated the usual summer traffic. But he was there as well.

Eyewitness accounts indicate that Erin cut his motorcycle in front of Jim’s sedan. At that moment, for reasons known only to God, Jim stopped his car, grabbed his gun and shot Erin three times. Erin died at the scene minutes later.

We’ve all watched the old westerns where the evil gunslinger all in black shoots and kills an innocent man because he kicked up dust on a dusty road in front of him. We’ve watched an organized crime member shoot an innocent man because of some imagined insult.

What makes Erin’s death a uniquely American tragedy isn’t because Americans are natural born killers, it’s because the moneyed interests in the gun manufacturing community have poisoned our culture. They’ve done so through political contributions and public relations so that guns are not only readily available, but many Americans either believe that their manhood is enhanced by owning guns, or they are so afraid of the other people with guns that they feel that they need to have guns themselves.

We don’t know why Jim had a gun. We don’t know what his state of mind was that Friday at five to 2, but his gun was there. Reportedly not long after he shot and killed Erin, Jim abandoned his car at a Dunkin’ in Raymond, and then, on foot, went somewhere nearby, and shot and killed himself with the same gun, doubling the tragedy. Did Erin and Jim have hopes and aspirations for the future? Maybe a dream vacation. Maybe a kiss not given. Perhaps just looking forward to a cold beer and a seafood chowder that was cooking on a loved one’s stove waiting for them at five minutes to 2.

Maine will consider a “red flag” referendum this November. This differs significantly from the current “yellow flag” law on the books in that, under the “red flag,” upon the report of a gun owner who is acting unstable mentally, police are authorized to remove their legally owned guns until a determination is made that they are psychologically sound. Yes, this imposes on the rights of the gun owner for what should be a short time — and the law should ensure that the evaluation is expedient to limit this imposition — but would that law have saved Erin and Jim? We don’t know. But, who else might it save?

There is one last part of this that makes this a uniquely American tragedy, and that’s the road rage aspect of it. Road rage and thoughtless driving are becoming more and more a part of American lives these days. How often have you been cut off in traffic? Have you gotten mad at that? How often have you been upset by traffic snarls and cut someone else off, not caring if the other drivers
got angry at you?

According to the Windham police chief, bystanders performed what first aid they could in an effort to save Erin. They were, obviously, unsuccessful. We will never know if Jim had anyone in his life trying to help him with whatever led him to become a killer in that tragic instant, but I’d like to think family and friends would have been trying.

We should all pause and take what lessons we can from this tragedy before we move on. Most people traveling from Windham to Raymond today probably don’t even know what happened there. But we can turn down the stress of driving, we can reach out to friends and neighbors in distress, and we can dedicate ourselves to being a part of a more civil society. Erin and Jim deserve at least that.