To the Editor:

September 1, 2021

To all those who were in danger around 5:30 p.m. on this day when I slowly entered the intersection at Manteo Middle School through a RED light:

My sincere apology for making this careless mistake and my thanks to the Lord God Almighty who interceded this possible disaster that could have caused severe pain to many who were entering this intersection through the proper green light.

To the ones who stopped, and especially to the person who was definitely paying attention and swerved to the side to avoid me, I cannot thank you enough for your quick action. I am so thankful that I recognized what I had done and could quickly back up without causing any danger. But this was because all of you were patient and waited for me. As a person who taught Defensive Driving for 25 years while working for the National Park Service and taught Driver Education for eight years, this was the most embarrassing and should have never happened. It was one of those inattentive moments that we stress so much to every driver. To be a safe driver, you must have your mind on your driving at all times. This was certainly not the case in this incident.

Again, please know how sorry I am to have put you in this dangerous situation and I will certainly be more attentive to my driving from now on while thanking my Saviour for the blessing we all receive this afternoon.

A Manteo resident

Editor’s Note: While it is very atypical for us to run an unsigned Letter to the Editor, we made an exception in this specific instance. We felt the message the writer conveys about paying attention while driving is an important one that needs to be shared.

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