To the editor:
I am writing in response to Dennis Lythgoe's Jan. 2 column in the Today section in which he wrote about an accident he and I were involved in on Dec. 23, 1991.I would have had no objection to his column if he had written about the accident without trying to look like the "injured" party, as I feel he was trying to do. Mr. Lythgoe expressed how humbling and embarrassing the situation was.
I feel he only found it that way because he was careless in driving through traffic, and he was embarrassed that he had to explain to his family why the accident happened.
I'd like to write about another emotion caused by this incident. Anger: Anger that not once did Mr. Lythgoe say he was sorry for not watching traffic more closely; anger because not once did Mr. Lythgoe say he was sorry for leaving me without transportation; anger that not once did he say that he was in the wrong when he pulled out between cars; anger at being called a speeding car, an out-and-out lie; and anger because Mr. Lythgoe capitalized on this incident by writing a column about it that, in my opinion (and many others'), made him the victim and me a speeding woman driver.
In my opinion, he tried to make his readers feel sorry for him. He acknowledged that he was cited, but he made it sound like the officer should have believed his story and not cited him. Not once did he express remorse for causing the accident. He reminded me of my little boy who comes to me and says, "Mom, Billy hit me." When I ask him why Billy hit him, he says, "Because I hit him first."
Well to me, Mr. Lythgoe is saying, "Readers, I got a ticket after this speeding woman driver hit me because the officer refused to give my version of the event any credit. Who cares if I caused the accident to begin with?"
JoAnn Stockseth
Magna