An incident of road rage

I left my apartment in Marble about 5:45 p.m., headed for Coleraine.  When I got to the West exit of Marble, I saw no one coming from the east, so I got on Hwy 169, and accelerated to 45 mph. the speed limit for the work area.  It’s about half a mile from the Marble exit to the end of the work zone. 

By the time I got to the end of the work zone, a smaller silver grey sedan going at a high rate of speed had pulled to within a car length of my rear end.  He couldn’t pass me because someone was coming from the other direction.  I had no desire to drive as fast as he wanted me to, so I tried to slow down enough so I could pull over, and let him pass me on the left.

I didn’t slow down fast enough for the guy, and by the time I was going slow enough to move off the highway, into the right side of the road, he decided he was going to pass me – ON THE RIGHT. He did so just as I was trying to pull over. I don’t think he was expecting that, as focused as he was on being in a hurry. In trying to avoid hitting me, he was forced down into the ditch, at which time, he sped up even more to get around me.

As soon as I was on the side of the road, I stopped. Once the guy got out of the ditch, he also stopped on the right side the road, maybe 100 feet in front of me. When I pulled back on the road, and went to go around him, he got out of his car and acted like he was going to get on the road in front of me, so as to try to force me to stop.  As I pulled around him, he was yelling at me, calling me names, and trying to get me to stop, and daring me to get out of my car so he could, as he said, beat me up.

I caught up to a truck that was in front of me, and just kept my distance behind the truck. The guy caught up to, and stayed behind me until we got to the four-lane section of the road at the Scenic Highway. Then he passed me on the right doing about 70 mph. I didn’t see him again after that.
When I got into Coleraine, I pulled over and called 911, and reported the incident to the State Highway Patrol.  Because things happened so fast, I was not able to get a make and model, or a full license plate number of the car. It was a newer sedan, silver grey in color.  He was a white male, maybe 6’3” or 4”, bald, or with a shaved head, and wearing a greenish colored t-shirt and whitish jeans.

This was my first experience with what I’m sure was “road rage.”  After the guy passed me, and I had the chance to stop and think about things, it occurred to me to be glad he didn’t have a gun. He was so out of control when the incident happened, he might have shot me. I’m sure he blamed me for his anger, even though he was the one almost wholly at fault. I suspect he has anger issues, and I hope he gets some help in the near future, before something even worse happens to him or others.

Gary Burt
Marble, Minnesota

The Mike Randolph affair

To John Gilbert:

I’m writing to express my admiration for your reporting. The Mike Randolph “affair” is such a black eye for East High School and the ISD 709 administrators. Great job covering it. He is a victim of the current trend, as I see it, of parents wanting and expecting a return on the huge investment they’ve made over the years: equipment, ice time, travel, “Hound” paraphernalia and on and on ... When things don’t work out, it has to be someone’s fault. Mike is an outstanding individual, an outstanding coach and previously, an outstanding elementary school teacher. To see his storied career end this way is simply a sad, sad commentary on the current state of the game.

I mentioned Lennie Green in the past. He came through Lower Chester’s program back in the ‘50s. His obituary appeared in the Trib a few months ago. I never knew him personally, but at Portman I played against him before moving to Coleraine. Two things stood out with him: he was black and he loved the game. I doubt he would ever have complained to a coach about ice time, as some East players did this year.

Your columns make it all the way over here to France, and it’s a treat to read your words every week.

Jeff Kozak
Greenway of Coleraine, 1967 

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