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We'll never know how often
"Failed to negotiate a curve" on the accident report should have been listed as
"Lost in thought."
Daniel Knack was 52 years old. He lived in an upper middle class neighborhood, drove a Lexus, and had worked his way up to vice president at a suburban engineering firm. Married to Joanne, who was still fit and attractive, he had two children -- twins -- who had recently graduated with honors from grad school. Daniel had traveled to several parts of the world in his lifetime, had won the county tennis tournament in 1986, had garnered several engineering awards -- had even tried skydiving. In short, he'd lived a full life.
What might he have been thinking about so deeply as his car approached the curve that night? What was it in his life that wasn't quite right? On the surface everything seemed just fine.
The coroner performed the autopsy, trying to find a clue. He peered into the brain stem, where heart rate, digestion, and muscle movement were controlled, inherited from the reptiles, millions of years ago. No deep thoughts there, just impulses and instincts to help a body survive.
Perhaps in the midbrain, where hormones, temperature control, emotion, and memory formation resided, an answer would appear. Was it a fit of rage or testosterone that caused Daniel's car to become airborne? Unlikely -- Daniel kept an even keel, not given to extremes.
NEXT
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