Careless moment ruins lives

SCENE 1: A courtroom in Wanganui. A young man stands in the dock, his family present to support him in his hour of crisis.

The man is visibly upset; he glances towards his family for reassurance and receives it, along with a sense of worry, dread and foreboding. He sees another group; they appear utterly distraught. And angry, their fury at times directed at this young man.

He is not a bad person, the court is told, and that assessment is supported by character references from his employer, former school principal and others. He simply made a mistake; his life shouldn't be ruined as a result, argues his lawyer. His parents want him released to their care, stating he will make up for what he has done.

One of the other group rises amid a chorus of wailing. How can he make up for the loss of our beloved daughter, he screams, knowing as he sags to his seat there is no way that can be achieved.

The young man will carry, as a lifelong burden, the realisation of what he has done.

Scene 2: Stricken with grief, they weep openly over the casket, which seems far too small but carries such precious cargo. The grieving family hold no malice towards the driver. She battles, too, with the realisation of what she has done and a lifetime of what-ifs.

There could be no way she could have foreseen what was about to happen that fateful day, yet both the woman driver and the young boy's family must now live with holes in their hearts that can never be filled.

They can only take comfort that she was not charged for her role in events that led to the boy's death.

These events never happened, but they so easily could have, from what I witnessed yesterday.

On the first day of the new school term, three youngsters at a busy intersection ran and cycled in front of vehicles which had the right of way and a green light. That disaster was averted was down only to the awareness of the driver and her hesitation to proceed, surely saving one, if not all, of their lives.

The other incident involved a young driver, who I expect liked the attention he received from the noise and smoke as he did a burnout and accelerated past an early childhood education provider at the busy morning drop-off time. It was surely luck that no one was crossing the road.

Police had put out a call for extra care with yesterday marking the start of the new school term. That message was clearly lost on these characters, who would do well to consider the possible implications of their actions.

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