Bonfire in Fresno

Western route on Mt. Kilimanjaro - Tanzania

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

It could be seen coming from a mile away, like the left hook from an aging boxer. A tragic motor vehicle accident occurs leaving three young women traveling in a SUV dead after being hit by a Greyhound bus at 2 AM on Highway 99. Also dead are the 57 year old bus driver and two of his passengers. The story hit the front page of the Fresno Bee the very next morning, but strangely enough the article focused almost exclusively on one of the passengers in the SUV – a twenty year old unwed mother with a three month old infant at home. All the other victims virtually were ignored, but the implication could not be more clear: an innocent mother died as a result of the negligent conduct of a bus driver working for a major company.

According to initial accounts, the three young women aged 18-20 were clubbing at one of local hot spots. They left the establishment in the wee hours with the 18 year old at the wheel. Shortly thereafter, the driver missed an exit off Highway 99, and while swerving to correct the error, rolled the vehicle which literally bounced over the concrete center divider into on coming traffic. (I saw the impact site several days later. The force was so great that a large chunk of cement was knocked out of the barricade.) The SUV with lights extinguished came to rest on its side with only its under carriage exposed to the bus.

The newspaper article written by two of the Bee's stellar writers was right out of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities, where the details of a tragic hit-and-run fatality are exaggerated by a reporter in order to gain the most literary attention possible. In this fictional case a well-to-do motorist driving late at night in a luxury sedan takes the wrong turn off of a freeway in New York City and finds himself in a very tough ethnic neighborhood. He instantly is surrounded by menacing young men who recognize his vulnerability. Fearing for his life, the driver finds the on ramp to the freeway and presses the accelerator to the floor. In the process he hits and kills an innocent pedestrian who is using the poorly lit ramp as a walkway. When a newspaper reporter investigates the accident, it turns out the victim was a recent high school graduate with a mediocre academic record and a history of some minor brushes with the law. Since this resume does not have the proper amount of pizazz to sell newspapers, the reporter decides to extrapolate. As it turns out, the young man once had an “A” in one of his classes in high school, so in the article he becomes “an honor student.” Despite being unemployed and not attending college, one of his friends tells the reporter that the victim once told him that he wanted to be a doctor and go to an Ivy League school. This morphs into a more engrossing commentary: “A high school honor student bound for Harvard to study medicine was struck and killed in the prime of life by a hit and run driver ...”

The Fresno Bee article followed a similar path. The centerpiece of the story is the young woman did not want to go night clubbing and leave her three month old daughter at home, but her family insisted she go out and have a good time. We are lead to believe she called home every 15 minutes to check on her baby but was told by her relatives who were baby sitting to relax and stop the incessant calling. The narrative is written in a style which infers this conduct represents normal parenting skills. We are told she had a boyfriend who she planned to marry and at some point intended to pursue her education. Next to the article is a well composed color picture of a very pretty young woman which overwhelms the blurry smaller photos of the other two young women and the bus driver, who similarly are treated as afterthoughts in the story.

A few days later as the case unfolded, it was discovered the driver of the SUV had been drinking. Apparently, all three women survived the initial crash and were struck by the bus as they attempted to escape from the wrecked vehicle. Questions were raised whether the bus driver, who was sober and had an exemplary 32 year driving record, was driving too fast. Imagine driving a bus on a dimly lit highway at 2 AM. How could one possibly see a wrecked vehicle laying on its side without lights and passengers fleeing from it? It is just too easy to vilify a dead man who had a family of his own and a solid reputation.

A number of follow up articles appeared over the ensuing weeks. Not surprisingly some of the Greyhound passengers intend to sue the bus company, because they thought the bus was traveling too fast. Evidently, they possessed some sixth sense which allowed them to determine the speed of the bus, although it was late at night and they were seated in the dark passenger compartment. Curiously, the negligence of the SUV driver was minor compared to that of the man who did his best to save their lives.

The accident is an unmitigated tragedy, but the Bee once again shows it more interested in selling newspapers than dispensing the truth. At some point personal responsibility matters and blaming others does not. When the story broke, the reporters' first probing questions were directed away from the young women: “Did the dance club serve them liquor? How do the owners insure under age party goers do not drink? Was the bus driver driving too fast? Had he been drinking or using drugs? Was he a competent employee?” But ask any conscientious parent and another set of questions would have been posed: “Why was the mother of a three month old baby partying at two in the morning? If her younger friend had been drinking, why did she let her drive? Why would her parents encourage irresponsible behavior?”

The plaintiffs' attorneys already smell blood, and they do not have the driver of the SUV in the cross hairs. They are going after Greyhound who has deep pockets and something to lose. They do not care if they destroy the reputation of a hard working driver with a commendable record who spent an unblemished career safely transporting his passengers along America's highways. It is all about money and shifting the blame.