Letter: When donating to relief accounts, make sure you know where money's going

On Aug. 24, 2002, I was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle versus automobile collision between 162nd and 163rd. The driver of the "offending" car was driving somewhat erratically and roaming between 32 and 42 mph in a 50 mph zone, and coming to a complete stop frequently. The traffic, understandably, was backing up and stacking dangerously close together. The driver behind me was tailgating me to the point of making me fearful for my safety.

I made the admittedly poor decision to pass the four vehicles in front of me in order to escape what I felt was becoming a life-threatening situation. I know, and knew at the time, that passing anywhere between driveways and intersections is against the law, especially on a motorcycle, and passing more than one vehicle is never a good idea. I pulled into the southbound lane to pass the northbound traffic that I was following. As so often is the case, the driver of the lead car, the offending driver, did not see me (or even bother to look?) He suddenly saw the turn he was looking for and braked hard to turn left, only to see a cable across the private driveway he planned to turn into. His car skidded to a stop sideways in the road in front of me. My 1988 Harley-Davidson Sportster skidded 47 feet before striking the driver-side door of his car, and pushed it, sideways, into the ditch.