As you probably heard, a large crowd of people were standing in the middle of Indian Head Highway cheering on the racers recently when a car driving at the speed limit came upon the gathering in the dark and plowed into them. The police believe this driver had no time to react to the sudden appearance of a crowd standing in the roadway. The story of the eight people killed that night seems to provide a new surprise every day. 

First came the shock of learning how many often participate as spectators egging on the death-wish drivers hurtling themselves - sometimes drunkenly - at up to 160 miles-per-hour. Then came the revelations of the number of these drivers who have dozens of speeding and other violations (one confessed to having at least 30 speeding tickets before he came to his senses and quit racing – how the heck does anyone like that keep a license?). And last night I heard friends and family of the victims demanding remorse from and punishment of the driver who hit their loved ones – the one person on the scene who was apparently driving properly.

I understand their grief, but the crowd was acting illegally and dangerously, as were the racers. Wasn’t the thrill of the event its danger and illegality and the threat of the consequences? Blame the driver who wasn’t breaking the law and excuse the tempting of fate? I can try to understand that reaction, but I’ll never be able to buy it.