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Things aren’t always what they seem

By Jeff Terrill

Fort Wayne Reader

2013-09-06

I’ve rushed judgments. Have you ever blamed a loved one of moving your car keys only to find them moments later exactly where you last left them? Sometimes things just aren’t as they seem.

On my way home from work one day, a car sped past me attempting to get through a busy intersection even though the light was red. The crossing cars honked and maneuvered their way around the car that was now positioned in the middle of the intersection.

The driver looked young and he had a passenger. She seemed young too — late teens, maybe early twenties. Cars continued honking at the driver and he was honking back and defiantly raising his arms in the air. The female passenger turned and looked back. She was screaming. Her stares and screams appeared directed at me.

What was their problem? Were they out of their minds on drugs? Were they fleeing police? I could think of no legitimate reason for the way these two were acting.

The car took off when the intersection finally cleared before the light turned green. The female passenger continued looking back. I was now really curious. I sped up too so I could continue to watch.

I thought about calling 911, but I never did. I caught up to the car only because it was forced to slow down by the traffic backed up at the next light. The driver started honking his horn and motioning for cars to move out of his way. The female passenger turned around, again. I could hear screaming but couldn’t make out her words. She threw what looked like paper towels out of her window while reaching into the back seat. I raised my hands and shot back an inquiring glare in her direction.

My curiosity trended towards amazement. Who acts like this?

When the next light turned green, the driver pounded his horn again in an attempt to speed up the cars ahead of him. Some of the cars switched lanes to get out of his way. The guy was actually making a bit of progress.

I watched the driver turn his attention to the back seat. Great. Now they were both hate staring me? What the heck was their problem? What did I do? The driver then abruptly swerved over to the right side of the road to get around cars ahead of it. He drove over a small curb and on to a stretch of grass and then skillfully executed a hard right turn. I continued driving straight.

Just as I was thinking what a nut job the guy was, it hit me. The driver had turned on to the road that leads to the hospital.

There was a baby in that backseat probably struggling to breathe or maybe even having a seizure.

The young couple wasn’t glaring at me. They never even saw me. They weren’t high on crack or meth. They weren’t running from the law.

They didn’t need to be stopped. They needed help.

In just a few seconds, my perception of the people in the car in front of me transformed from that of drugged-up sociopaths to scared parents racing to save their baby’s life.

Things definitely were not as they first seemed to be.

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Jeff Terrill is a partner/shareholder with the law firm of Arnold Terrill Anzini, P.C. Mr. Terrill represents clients accused of crimes throughout northeast Indiana. You can contact Mr. Terrill with any questions or comments at his office at 260.420.7777 or via email at jterrill@fortwaynedefense.com. Learn more about his firm at www.fortwaynedefense.com. This article expressed opinions and observations of the author, is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader. Please consult a qualified attorney with any legal questions or issues you might have. Thank you.