On A Very Sad Note

Posted by Nancy Powell
KC Scout Traffic Management Center Supervisor



 

"...When will they ever learn?..."

The line above is from the 1961 folk song by Pete Seeger entitled “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”  It was originally penned as a rhetorical meditation on death that has since been re-recorded in various genres dozens of times over the past 50 years.  It stood as an anthem against the loss of young soldiers during the Vietnam era, and now, half a century later, the message is still one of senseless loss among other heroes of these modern times.  MoDOT and the KC Scout family continue to grieve the devastating loss of Mr. Clifton Scott, a 15 year Department veteran and beloved colleague who died after being struck on I-70 early on the morning of September 21^st as he was assisting first responders on the scene of an earlier accident.  His life was taken in an instant by a driver who chose to get behind the wheel of a car with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.   The emphasis is on the word “chose” because that driver had other choices that night.  He could have called a cab or a family member but instead he chose to exercise his right to poor judgment and will have to live the remainder of his life with the consequences of his actions.  Clifton Scott’s 15 year old son, Clifton, Jr. will live the remainder of his life without the companionship and love of an adoring father. 

But one senseless death was apparently not enough to make others choose more wisely.  On September 29^th, the day that Mr. Scott was laid to rest, a 41 year old man from Kansas City was struck and killed while he stood outside his broken down minivan on I-35 in Johnson County by an inattentive driver who also struck a second pedestrian at the scene, before running away from the wreckage.  And it gets worse.  On Monday, October 1^st a 54 year old woman died in a crash at 40 Hwy and I-70 involving a semi tractor trailer that turned left in front of her vehicle.  Drunk driving, distracted driving, it has many names.  But it has one common characteristic – it can be avoided.  It is a simple choice. 

“When will they ever learn?”  Let that day be today.  MOVE OVER and SLOW DOWN for Emergency Vehicles, including MoDOT and Tow vehicles on the roadway.  DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE!!  No message is worth losing your life or taking another’s.  DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!! Use good judgment instead of standing in judgment for a bad decision that can never be undone.  The choice belongs to everyone.

http://www.modot.mo.gov/kansascity/connections_kansascity.htm

“Where have all the flowers gone?  Gone to young men everyone.”

Rest In Peace,

Clifton Scott

Sept. 25, 1961 – Sept. 21, 2012