It would be grossly unfair to condemn a local Fort Lee resident, and parent, for a simple driving incident. But it would be just as unfair to dismiss what could have been a major tragedy, judging it as nothing more than unfortunate accident, particularly without a full investigation into what occurred.
On Thursday, March 15, 2012, at 8:26 in the morning, Fatos Bakir, a 34-year-old woman, drove her automobile over the curb and up the stairs of Fort Lee School #1 while pulling her car into a parking space. She went over the curb and up the stairs, barely avoiding crashing through the front façade, possibly injuring and even killing teachers, children and/or administrative staff.
The comment in the Patch article “Police said the crash was 'purely an accident,' and that Bakir was not ticketed or charged leaves me personally with an “empty feeling.” There was a comment by “J.P.” on the Patch article that “this woman almost hit two cars on Monday while parking in front of the school also.” I don’t know J.P.’s identity, or if this comment is valid, but there is a part of me that believes that the possibility exists!
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On the surface, it appears that a full investigation may have been warranted, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Prior driving history, with particular review of vehicular accidents.
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(2) Cell phone calls should have been traced, just to ensure that she was not on the phone during this incident.
(3) Blood test for alcohol or drugs, (Obviously too late now!) This is not meant to be accusatory, but under the circumstances, don’t we have to rule the possibility out?
(4) Ms. Bakir is dropping her kids off at 8:26 a.m., well before the bell. Was she in a big hurry to get somewhere, e.g. her job, which may have caused her to be wreckless?
Our children are our most precious commodity. We have an obligation to protect them, even at the cost of possibly embarrassing a community member who may be innocent of any crime. The visions of what could have happened here are extremely haunting.
