For a dozen miles, the man in the car traveled neck and neck alongside the McIntoshes. His rantings were peppered with gestures, crazy talk, and hatred.
Then it got worse.
Most of the vitriol was directed at Bob McIntosh’s driving skills. Granted, Bob was not a text book driver, but he wasn’t terrible. After Bob had accidentally cut off the guy in traffic, the man made it his mission to hound and harass the McIntoshes.
Yelling about what he was going to do if he ever caught them alone, startled them. Jeanne called 9-1-1 to report the issue and rolled up her window. Flipping someone off in traffic is one thing, but following them for 20 miles screaming from his window was something entirely different.
When the man saw Jeanne on the phone, he picked up his phone and began recording her calling someone else. Well, that’s what the man planned to do. As he held up the phone, the wind caught the smartphone and flung it to the ground. That action caught the man off guard and to lose his concentration because with the next set of screams came the coup de grace. He looked forward just in time to see the back end of the semi he was about to run into. In his zeal to capture the McIntoshes on camera, he neglected to see the semi slow down.
Jeanne was, however, able to capture the moment on camera. She’s never seen such wide eyes on a man before.
*******
Never take your eyes off the road.
Ernest Hemingway
"Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you quit, try."
I'm thinking the first "before" applies in the case of this inattentive, vitriol-ranting driver.