Officer pens open letter to 18-year-old going 100 mph

After NORTH RIDGEVILLE — pulling over an 18-year-old who was driving 100 mph Saturday on State Route 10, a North Ridgeville police officer wrote not only a ticket, but also an open letter cautioning against dangerous driving.

“You were scared when I stopped you,” the officer wrote in the letter posted to Facebook. “You were visibly shaking and breathing hard. Unfortunately, you were scared one minute too late and for the wrong reason.”

The driver should have been scared that he was close to killing himself or someone else, the officer said — but instead, like many teenagers, he felt indestructible.

“I know you’re invincible,” the officer said. “I know that you can’t even fathom your own death.”

The officer described the numerous “unrecognizable” 18-year-old bodies he has pulled from cars and found in yards after crashes.

“They thought they were invincible too,” the officer said. “They weren’t.”

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, making up one-third of all teenager deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2016, 2,433 teens ages 16 to 19 were killed in crashes in the United States, averaging about six teens killed per day, according to the CDC.

There have been 1,021 traffic fatalities this year in Ohio, according to the State Highway Patrol. The State Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to a request about how many of those deaths were teenagers.

The officer recalled the heartbreaking experience of telling a parent that their child has died.

“When they get a knock on the door, it’s not, ‘Good afternoon ma’am. Your 18-year-old son just had a massive heart attack.’ It’s ‘Can we sit down? Your son has been involved in a very serious crash. I’m so sorry. He’s died.’ ”

The officer told the 18-year-old that when his parents say, “Be careful, drive safe,” those aren’t just words.

“That is the very last act of them pleading with you to come home safe,” the officer said. “Sometimes you’re the innocent person hit by someone with no regard for anyone else and sometimes you’re the one with no regard for anyone else. Today you were the latter.”

The officer said he was proud to have written the ticket, and hopes the driver regrets his decision with each payment.

“I hope you can envision me sitting in your kitchen telling your screaming mother that you have been killed,” the officer said.

“Slow down. Please. You are not invincible. I promise.”