In The News : Student Driver the Victim or Freak Backing-Out Accident

T******, OH - We hear often of teen aged driving and the risks behind adolescents taking their place behind the wheel of an automobile. As a safety measure to at least partially counteract these risks, laws have been put in place which allow young teens to receive a learner's permit, known in slang as 'temps', which allows them to take the wheel as young as fifteen, in the presence of a parent or any adult approved by the parent, aged twenty-one or older.
However, a recent event has triggered heavy debate and discussion in the city of T****** as to whether or not these young teens should be given legal permission to take the wheel, regardless of the presence of a parent. On April 3rd, at approximately 3:35 PM, a young teen, who has asked that his name not be revealed, was backing out of a friends driveway after dropping him off at his residence. Shortly after entering the roadway, a crash was heard, and the driver was in a ditch, a place no teen driver should ever have to find himself in.
In an interview, his friend describes the incident: 'Well, he drove me home, and it was fairly smooth. He swerved once or twice, nothing too bad. Of course I cannot expect him to match up to my skill and prowess behind the wheel. When we got to my home, we shared in a quick joke and I exited the vehicle. As I began walking up my driveway, I heard a slight noise, sounding as if someone had maybe fallen off of their bike or something. I turned around, and there it was. My best friend was in a ditch, and I was consumed by shock and worry. Smoke was billowing from the inside of the car. As I ran towards the car calling his name, I could only imagine what had caused something like this to happen. Most likely, he was distracted by thinking of how amazing I am and how lucky he is to be my friend. As I got closer, I saw him getting out the car. Half of his body was burned to black, and I could see where the fire caused his skin and his shirt to become one. It was purely repulsive. Lucky for us, his mother was at the scene and knew exactly what to do. She opened a can of Pepsi, the family favorite, and used it to it's full capacity so that it may douse the fire down to nothing but mere embers in the back seat. Then, she told us to push her out of the ditch. Dumbfounded by what we just saw, we obeyed her order and pushed her, successful on the first attempt. She got out, my friend got in, and the events that ensued were nothing lacking normality. I thanked God for our good fortune and went on as if nothing had happened.'
Although things ended well, future victims of the same freak accidents may not be so lucky, as was discussed at a community meeting only hours after the event. Community voters will decide in only weeks, through a vote, whether or not adolescents as young as fifteen should be allowed to be behind a wheel without any formal training beforehand.
Until any further updates, here is a dramatization of the event. All persons present are paid actors and do not resemble any persons at the scene.