Yesterday, a man lost control of his car, which jumped the curb near an elementary school and hit 11 people, 9 of them school children.
That in itself is unfortunate, but the story gets prominent national attention because the driver, Preston Carter, is 100 years old:
Four of the children were seriously injured when Preston Carter backed his blue 1990 Cadillac into the victims, who were on their way to buy snacks from a vendor across the street from Main Street Elementary School, authorities said.
The victims ranged in age from 14 months to 48 years old. The children, some of whom attend the school, were in stable condition Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Carter, a Los Angeles resident who will turn 101 on Sept. 5, has a current driver's license and no history of traffic violations, the Department of Motor Vehicles said. The only restriction on his license, which is valid until 2013, is that he wear corrective lenses.
Ruben Vives and Robert J. Lopez of The Los Angeles Times report: Link (Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/LA Times)
Since that day, I've worried about older drivers. I don't think there should be an age cutoff, since infirmities set in for different people at different times, but I would advocate for some kind of testing.
I've also joked that once my parents get old enough, I might put a "How's my driving?" bumper sticker on their cars with my number on it, because all I could think about when I saw that woman was how much I wanted to let her kids know what was going on, to let someone know that she wasn't safe.
My parents don't think that joke's particularly funny.