In 1995, I was struck from behind on a training ride by a gentleman EXACTLY like Mr. Pastore. 68 years old, Lincoln Grand Marquis, no skid marks. He just fell asleep, drove onto the shoulder, drove through me (I hit the windshield and went backwards over the car) and then drove another 100 yards before he realized that his windshield had shattered.
I went to the hospital with broken bones, road rash, and dislocations. He had an estimate done on the damage to his car, and left it in my mailbox so that I'd find it when I came home 2 days later. (It was $3,900 - I won. My bike and medical expenses were over $10K).
In deposition when asked, "When did you first see the cyclist?" he replied, "When he came through my windshield." His attorney cringed. We settled.
The anger some feel to Mr. Pastore is justified; How could he be so callous? So uncaring? So detached? Drivers of that age who have lived a full and complete life have detached themselves from most of what we consider to be 'reality.' His wife is gone. His life is in limbo - too old to live, too young to die. Everything is just background to the constant grey that each day is for him. Same routine. Same everything. He probably has no idea what he has done - it doesn't register. They weren't cyclists - they weren't people. "I must have hit something."
His detachment at the scene is angering, but nothing we say or do will change that. You have to let the anger go. There are thousands more out there like him, and the AARP will make well and sure that their right to drive isn't ever threatened. That's life, whether I like it or not. Calling him to harass him won't help. Sending him letters won't help. Talking to him won't change things. You just have to be grateful that everyone he hit WILL heal, and most will ride again. It's the only thing we have to hold on to here.
Ride in groups, ride alert, but don't stop riding. Let the Pastore's of the world go on...but keep a sharp eye for them.
Hurricane Bob
http://www.bobmina.com