QUINCY

“Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)

What’s being called an extreme case of road rage took place just before 1 a.m. last Sunday on Commander Shea Boulevard in Quincy. As 30-year-old Milton firefighter Joseph Fasano and his girlfriend drove along, a man driving a gray Porsche kept cutting in front of Fasano’s vehicle and jamming on the brakes, forcing Fasano to jam on his brakes. At one point, Fasano got out of his vehicle intending to confront the sports car driver and was shot by him. Fasano has been hospitalized since then, initially in very serious condition. A couple of days later, Robert O’Connell, 40, of Quincy turned himself in to Quincy Police (with his attorney present). He is being charged with armed assault with intent to murder.

My last posting was entitled “The Kid in Taunton” and I almost called this one, “The Guy in Quincy”, but then I settled for “Quincy”. When you get into your car and proceed to go ANYWHERE you need to be “prayed up”. No kidding. This road rage incident proves anything can happen anywhere. I can understand Fasano’s anger and frustration, but he probably made a big mistake getting out of his vehicle. There are “nuts” everywhere. You never know when someone is going to pull a gun and shoot you, or pull a knife and stab you, or what!

It does seem like road rage incidents have gotten worse in the past few years, but they’re nothing new. I remember one time when I was a VERY little kid, our family was on the way home from a Cape Cod vacation. We were on Route 28 somewhere around the Middleboro area. One car was attempting to pass the car in front of him, and every time the car attempted to pass, the car that was about to BE passed moved over into the left to block the passing car! It was a very dangerous maneuver. I’d guess my father probably took the license plate number on the car and followed up with it later. He could do a lot of things as a Registry of Motor Vehicles officer that a lot of us WISH we could have done!

In the middle 1970s when my father was on his way to work as a Supervisor at the old RMV 100 Nashua Street, Boston headquarters, a group of young “wise guys” cut him off, laughing, swearing at him and “giving him the finger”. In those days, my father drove an orange 1974 VW Super Beetle. He was a “suit” at the time, so no longer in uniform, but he DID carry a badge and a violation book. Dad also had a large plastic shield with the Registry of Motor Vehicles name and logo on it. He pulled up beside the wise guys and began blowing his horn. They were “laughing him to scorn” to lift a Bible verse slightly out of context. Suddenly, the driver noticed the RMV shield.

“Pull it right over,” Dad ordered. He got out and showed his badge and I.D. He then instructed the driver to, “follow me to 100 Nashua Street for a hearing on our license”. I don’t know what would happen TODAY but this was around 1975 and the driver did as he was instructed. My father got a Hearing Officer and a room, and they went right into a hearing. My father insisted the driver give the exact quote of what he had to say to him and what gestures were made. The driver complied. Upon checking the computer records, the driver had a clean driving record. It was decided to NOT suspend the guy’s license, but to give him a strong lecture and scare and that’s what Dad and the Hearing Officer did. The driver left essentially “with his tail between his legs”.

It’s too bad we all don’t have the power to do that, but we don’t! I have been known to report bad driving when the vehicle has one of those “How’s My Driving?” things with a phone number. Today with everyone having cell phones, it would make sense to call the cops and report a driver’s erratic behavior. That’s probably what Fasano SHOULD have done!

Yes, it’s Christmastime, and yes, we need Jesus as never before! Getting into your car can be like walking into a mine field!