Late one night I hear an unusual sound for our small town. It is a helicopter flying very low overhead. My first thought was law enforcement, looking for someone. Then I realized it was a Life Flight helicopter. Someone had been hurt very badly. The helicopter landed not far from my home. On it's way to the ground it literally shook the entire town. It stayed on the ground for several minutes before rattling windows on its way to the hospital with its precious cargo.

The next day I learned the details of the events from the night before. It was a teenage driver. A one car accident. He was not impaired, just sleepy. He had been at work with his mother and was very tired. She was in another vehicle ahead of him. They had apparently lost sight of each other. At an intersection down the road she turned around to go look for her son. Speculation is that he just ran off the road. He was going well above the speed limit at the time of the crash. There were no skid marks, he must have not seen what was about to happen. He died 12 hours later from his injuries.

Parents, please talk with your children. Your wisdom and experience may help prevent a tragedy. Be an example also, do not show them that it is ok to drive sleepy, impaired, angry, or fast. They learn from us, by deed and word.