I almost killed this little girl. She was crawling alone on highway at midnight wearing a diaper and dog collar.
\nI almost didn\u2019t see her crawling across Interstate 40 at midnight until his headlight caught the reflection from the metal dog collar around her neck.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m seventy years old. Been riding for forty-five years. Ridden through rainstorms, snowstorms, and fog so thick I couldn\u2019t see ten feet ahead.
\nBut I\u2019ve never slammed on my brakes harder than I did that night when I saw what looked like an animal in the middle of the highway turn out to be a child.<\/p>\n
Maybe eighteen months old. Wearing nothing but a diaper. Crawling on hands and knees across the westbound lane. Cars swerving around her. Nobody stopping.
\nThe dog collar was leather. Heavy. The kind you\u2019d put on a pit bull or rottweiler. It had a chain attached dragging behind her. She was crying. Bleeding from her knees.<\/p>\n
When she saw my headlight, she didn\u2019t try to crawl away. She crawled toward me. Like she\u2019d been waiting for someone. Anyone.
\nWhen I got close enough to see her face, I realized three things that made my blood run cold: she had cigarette burns covering her arms, the chain on her collar was freshly broken like she\u2019d ripped free from something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I almost killed this little girl. She was crawling alone on highway at midnight wearing a diaper and dog collar. I almost didn\u2019t see her crawling across Interstate 40 at midnight until his headlight caught the reflection from the metal dog collar around her neck. I\u2019m seventy years old. Been riding for forty-five years. Ridden…<\/p>\n