I am writing to you tonight as an outraged and concerned citizen of south Eugene and as a parent. We have witnessed yet another crime against nature, perpetrated by the ignorance and indifference of humans.
Shortly before 8 p.m., when my partner returned from the Eugene Jazz Station, he encountered a small crowd and a car stopped in the middle of the road, just above 28th on Chambers. In the street in front of him a young deer had been struck and was severely injured and suffering. Concerned and attempting to avoid the car stopped in the road, the small crowd gathered and the injured deer, my partner slowed down and began pulling over to the side. Just behind him was a car, an SUV-type following too closely and obviously annoyed that my partner was slowing down. Instead of slowing down also, the person in the vehicle stepped on the accelerator and pulled around my partner, passing him at high speed, with the obvious result of running right over the already injured deer in the street. My partner said he just watched this person ‘gun the vehicle’ up Chambers – up the hill, never pausing or making any gesture to stop. The gathered crowed looked on stunned, as the injured deer was struck for the second time in a short span of time and this time lost its life.
The driver in the vehicle, I repeat, never made any gesture to slow down or stop.
This happens too often here in the South Hills, where deer have their home as much as we do. I later though, “What if that injured soul in the middle of the street had been a child, an older person who had fallen down or suffered a stroke or heart attack, or a bicyclist who had taken a spill?” In that case, we would now be talking about a case of blatant man-slaughter, all because an impatient, fast-driving, SUV-owning, being did not bother to pause for a few second to assess the situation; a car stopped in the middle of the road, a small crowd gathered, and my partner slowing down and stopping in front. These are all tell-tale signs of trouble.
How have we become a group of people occupying the same space who care so little for one another and for our fellow creatures? My fellow citizens, we have to slow down and begin to care before it is too late.
I’d like to ask the driver of the 2nd vehicle that struck the deer, before 8 p.m. on Tuesday night just above 28th on Chambers Street, to stay out of our neighborhood if he or she cannot learn to drive socially responsibly. We have lots of children, senior citizens, dogs, cats and deer around here and we love them all! If you cannot follow the posted speed limits, drive responsibly, stay off your darn cell phone and pay attention to your driving, STAY OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
May Nielsen is a resident of Eugene