Flashback Friday #254

Speed & Gravel Roads Don't Mix

Welcome once again to another fast paced Flashback Friday. I say fast paced because this post deals with speeding, and what can happen if you're not a very experienced driver.

I've written several times about the Crook boys that lived beside us. Justa was the coolest thing this side of Antarctica. He ran with the "Hood" crowd. Skipping school & smoking dope was what he liked to do best. If he could do both, he was happy as a lark.

One day, as the bus stopped to pick us up for school, I didn't see Justa. I asked Sneaky where he was. "One of his friends stopped by in a van and picked him up. He told Mom that he was getting a ride to school, but I'll bet he doesn't make it there". I knew the friend that Sneaky was talking about. The kids called him "Bug". He was tall, thin & had stringy blond hair (Hmm. I just described Justa too). 

When we got to school, I checked out the parking lot for Bug's van. He drove the only white panel van in the school. He always said that there was a bed in the back. I don't know if there was or not because you couldn't trust most of what came out of his mouth.

About midway through the day, we heard the scream of sirens going by the west side of the school. The road that lead to the entrance of my school off the main highway, was paved only as far as the school grounds. It was gravel the rest of the way until you reached another highway about two miles away. 

Through the grapevine we heard that Bugs had been driving the van toward the school on the gravel part of the road. There is a pretty sharp curve before you get to the school property. He had his license about as long as I did (he was in my Drivers-Ed class) and he hit that curve too fast. It went into a skid and then started to roll. It has rolled at least three times before it came to rest on its top. Bugs & Justa were taken to the ER in an emergency squad. Fortunately, the injuries were mild compared to what they could have been. Bug suffered a broken arm, bruises & lacerations. Justa received a concussion, bruises & lacerations. The van was totaled. Do you think they learned anything from this. Nope.