A Drive through Whiteriver

A few weeks ago, on a Monday afternoon, I was driving through downtown Whiteriver. I stopped at the stoplight with two cars stopped in front of me. When the light turned green, the front car didn't move. I waited a bit, but still the car didn't budge. After the traffic passed me, I moved into the left lane. As I drove passed that first car, I glanced over. It was an ancient, dented old car, and I expected to see a driver trying to restart the engine after another annoying stall-out.

Instead, what I saw was the top of the driver's head against the glass of the driver's side window, limp, leaning against the glass and the door. God knows why this person was in this totally unconscious position: drugs? alcohol? heart-attack? diabetic shock? But there this person was, unconscious, at one of the only traffic lights on the rez.

According to the stats I've heard, one out of every seven drivers here is drunk; empty alcohol bottles are ubiquitous; and drugs are rampant. It's difficult to believe that the driver was sober and had suddenly fallen ill.