R.A.M. into the wall

One morning last week, I was surprised to see an SUV on the side of the street about ½ mile from our house. Something totaled the vehicle. The front end was a V shape ending in the front seat. There must have been a serious injury. Where was the other car, I wondered?

The next morning, the wreckage gone, I saw the other half of the crash. It was the stone wall surrounding one of the town’s historical homes, a Victorian mansion.

A rock musician owns this property. When the musicians wife purchased the house a few years back she decided to return it to its glory days.

At first, I was stunned when the painting began. Every day on my way to work, I watched the progress. I also noticed a number of curious strangers parking along the road to review the restoration. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be gaudy.

The contractor installed an electronic gate and security lights. They kept the beautiful old stone wall, but a mason was required to repair a section that had been destroyed by (you guessed it) a collision with it. Then, less then two months later, the same patched portion was broken and scattered by another middle of the night marauder.

In the 28 years we have lived on this street we have probably seen at least 18 crashes into the same general area. Some were low impact. The crunch last week was the worst.

The street that ends in the T intersection has a visible stop sign. Everyone who lives in our end of town knows the territory. One could guess at the possibilities of what might cause this type of accident.

Unfamiliarity? Poor visibility? Distraction? Anger? Suicide?

Disgruntled R.E.M. fan?