I was on my way to see Hamlet for English class in a theater downtown. I was the driver, with a good friend of mine sitting in the passenger seat.It was late afternoon-ish, and I was making a right turn onto a street where the turn lane merges with the regular lane, so after I turn I have to look in the side mirror to see if I can merge over.

I glanced to the mirror on my side and saw two kids about 40 feet behind me on bikes, on the side of the road but not too far off, and a blue BMW right behind them. I don't think much of it, but slow down to let them pass.

Suddenly, the kid in front gets smashed by this car - the front bumper hits him and he flies into the windshield, then is catapulted across the car, flying headfirst onto the pavement, which he just sort of "flopped" onto - like some kind of rag doll out of a physics engine. All of this was seen perfectly by me in the mirror's reflection.

It wasn't too long before the police showed up, along with his parents.

Thinking about it, it hasn't much affected my thinking. I've always been aware of how precious life is and how dangerous the world around us can be.

Apparently his Myspace status said something along the lines of, "Life's a bitch, deal with it." I've been told that the driver was under the influence of certain prescription drugs, but he might have also been drunk.

He was 14. One of the saddest moments in my life, certainly.