abruptly. - couple of years ago when— 4 - Friday, Angust 30,.1985 - North Shore News THERE WAS a pounding on the front door. It was Z a.m. It turned out to be a neighbor, his shirt splattered with blood. “There's a guy down the ‘road,’ he gasped. ‘‘Smashed up his car. It’s on fire. He's so pissed 1 can’t get him out. Call an ambulance, eh?” The neighbor turned and galloped back to the scezie of the accident. J hurriedly dialed for the ambulance, told my wife to call for the police and a fire truck as well, threw on a jacket, and Tan out to see what I could do. ; 1 could hear hollering in ‘the distance, but it wasn’t a cry of pain so.much as the -grunting and honking of a . ‘completely plastered idiot. ‘Even as 1 hurried up the Griveway, whatever trace of symipathy I might have had: for the victim drained away. I should ‘say that the. ‘stretch of road in front of “my house runs straight for a long block, then curves ‘Three or four -times a year, a car misses the ‘turn and goes’ into the ditch. -Every single’ time, ‘it’s’ a drunk. -T should also add that’ two. | neighborhood: kids got killed” ‘on that stretch of road a "rammed a telephone pole, again—a drunk creamed them from behind. I refuse to let my six-year-old go near the road. I call it a “killer road,’’ although, of course, roads don’t kill kids, drunks kill kids. The sight that greeted me as I rounded the hedge ‘woulé have been comical if it hadn't been so pathetic and infuriating. My neighbor; a big fellow, was . grappling with a'man whose entire face was a mess of blood. The guy was holding his. broken nose .with one ‘hand and. swinging _ wildly with the other, while his girlfriend .slumped on the « edge of the road; mewling. - The car was aflame. It had he British Columbia Pavilion at Expo 86 is our chance to show the world all we've done and all we can do. We'll showease a sparkling array of exciting innovations conceived and developed right here in B.C. Innovations that place us on the leading edge of world technology. i The spotlight will be on areas as new and unexpected as sub-sea technology, remote satellite sensing, micro-technology, as well as resource devel- opment expertise and marine transportation design. _(/ Just as importandy, we'll present these success which was teetering on a 35-degree angle. Oh great, 3 thought. There goes the power. I could see a day of not getting any ‘work donie. “Don’t call the cops!”’ the guy screamed, lurching toward me. ‘“‘If you call the cops I'll deck yal’? He took a swing at me, too. He was easy enough to sidestep. The difficult part.was controlling the urge to, pound him on the head, instead of leaving him to stagger around in cir- cles, bellowing. mediately burst from the crumpled hood. When my neighbor yank- ed open the burning car’s door, he discovered, to his astonishment, that neither one of the victims wanted to get out. The woman was groping around on the floor, complaining that she couldn’t find her lower plate, and the man kept yell- ing about his nose, shouting obscenities at his would-be rescuer. After getting me to call strictly personal by Bob Hunter Panting, my neighbor ex- plained what had happened. He was coming home. when’ the nerd’s car came up on | him in a rush from behind: : He sped up to escape being tailgated, but the madman . overtook him:on the. curve, varoomed off:the. road and . crunched straight ‘into the telephone pole. ‘Flames im- | the ambulance, my neighbor risked his life by going back to the burning car and grab- and hauling him forcibly out onto the road, only to be rewarded by being punched and kicked. The woman had _ crawled out of the car on her . “own, Vil say this, ” < stories in a manner distinetly our own. The structure itself, a brilliant glass landmark, is a product of our design, engineering and con- struction skills. Inside, everything from the unique * the Forest’ at the entrance to the ‘Trees of Dis- covery’ will offer a true reflection of B.C's ingenuity and resourcefulness. The British Columbia Pavilion represents a rare opportunity to build on our successes and better secure a bright fucure for us all. Is our time tu shine, The Honournble Don Phillips, Minister Responsible. bing the incoherent ¢ driver’ ‘the _am-" bulance, fire trucks and police ar.ived within ten minutes. The drunk and his girlfriend—covering her mouth because she never did find her lower plate—were hauled patiently away by the paramedics. The police didn’t even bother to inter- view the neighbor or myself, they were so wearily familiar with the situation. ; The tow truck arrived half an hour later. Alas, the tele- phone pole coliapsed. when the car was removed, and so the power to our. entire neighborhood was cut off, just as I feared, until the - hydro crew arrived. To give credit where credit is due, they showed up within another 30 minutes. . Reflecting on the matter in the morning, I realized how lucky that drunk driver was ithat it was my neighbor, noi ,me, who got to him in time. ' Remembering those two kids that died on. the road, I : would have been inclined to let the stupid S.O.B. burn to ; ' death in his car. We all: know the figures, : or ought to. An average of 250 people die in B.C. each. year. because of drinking drivers, The Pett sean Walk in compered to... 110. who are murdered, , although, as far as I-can see,” Drunk drivers deserve the worst a drunk driver and a murderer are no different, realiy. Taxpayers shell out $100 million a year because of these pariahs. 1 like the idea of that judge in Manitoba. Force convicted drunk drivers to sport a-red licence plate, im- pound their cars for six months, and—I’ll go fur- _.ther—why not shave their -heads? ‘Damn ‘it, I. should have clobbered.\the jerk while I had the chance. 1 could have, claimed self defence. You don’t get an ’ opportunity - Tike: that very often.