DUI. The longer you wait, the worse the situation will get. You can almost hear your father laughing at the thought. If he were in your position, he’d do anything and everything except call the police. Shit, if he were still around he’d probably beat your ass for even considering such an option.
THIRD PLACE SUDDEN FICTION
Decision Making
***
JACOB GERSTEL
Answer 2: Drive off
The problem: You only notice the car when it’s too late. If you hadn’t drunk so much, your reaction time might have been better and the accident could’ve been avoided, but it does no good to dwell on the past. You’re trying to remember what exactly caused you to relapse after two years when the sound of broken glass and crippling metal drowns everything out. The airbag deploys, and you’re uninjured. Shaking off the alcohol-induced dizziness, you slowly get out of your SUV to see what you just hit. You’re standing on a dark one-lane road that’s usually empty, but the car you T-boned came from a dirt crossroad. The sedan’s been dislodged into a nearby ditch on the side of the road with a crumpled passenger-side door. You see the man you hit: middle-aged with a receding hairline, his head resting on the steering wheel, bleeding, unmoving. You have a problem. *** Answer 1: Call the cops The admirable thing to do—the right thing to do. If the man’s airbag deployed properly, he would’ve been fine, but as it stands he’s knocked unconscious. Unconscious, but alive. Tell the police that you were at a party, that you’d been drinking, and that you had an accident. Forget the fact that this would be your third 148
Jacob Gerstel
Snap yourself out of your drunken stupor, get in your SUV, drive off, and pretend the whole thing didn’t happen. Your car’s bumper has a noticeable dent, but it drives just as well. All things considered, neither car looks too badly damaged. The sedan’s passenger-side door is mangled beyond repair, but that’s the extent of it. You can even still hear the steady thrum of its engine. With luck, the unconscious man will wake up groggy and a little confused, but will drive away with no lasting harm. If God is especially good to you, the man will have no memory of who hit him. Just hope that he didn’t catch a glimpse of your license plate, car model, or the shithead alcoholic driving. If anyone asks why your car looks different, explain that you hit a tree. Everyone at the party saw you drinking and would believe it, and your friends wouldn’t care too much to inquire any further. Your mother, on the other hand . . . *** Answer 3: Call the cops, then drive off At first glance, it seems the best of both worlds. The man would get help and you could get away in time. Your conscience would be clear, and you’d get off scot-free. But, of course, the idea has its faults: the cops will wonder where you went. What if they see you drive away? What if the man wakes up and tells the cops who hit him? Then you’d be arrested for causing the accident and fleeing the scene. Adding that to the three-strikes-and-you’re-out law seems less than ideal. You hear your father telling you that the most important thing is to not get arrested—do anything but get arrested. You try Berkeley Fiction Review
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