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From: lip@gcc-bill.ARPA (Sethmodius Lipkin)
Newsgroups: net.music.folk,net.music,net.college
Subject: Re: Add a new verse -- Harry Chapin
Message-ID: <258@gcc-bill.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 14-May-85 13:42:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: gcc-bill.258
Posted: Tue May 14 13:42:05 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 16-May-85 07:50:15 EDT
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Reply-To: lip@gcc-bill.UUCP (Sethmodius Lipkin)
Organization: General Computer Company, Cambridge Ma (Home of the HyperDrive)
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>> If I remember correctly, Harry Chapin died in a terrible car crash
>> in the late 1970's or early 1980's.  Unfortunately, he was drunk at
>> the time and apparently driving completely out of control.
>> 
>Quite right--Harry did die in the crash.  It was 1981 as I recall.
>The story as I understood it was that although he was a notoriously
>bad driver, this accident was NOT his fault.  An 18-wheeler lost control
>and skidded into his small, old car, killing him, although I have
>also heard that he may have suffered a heart attack during the accident
>which killed him.  He was not, as I recall, drunk, or in any way at fault
>in this case.

Yes and no.  He WAS a notoriously bad driver, having previously lost his
license for speeding (or some other moving violations).  However, in this
case, his car (VW Rabbit) had mechanical problems, causing him to slow
from expressway (L.I. Expressway) speed down to something like 20 mph.
He was trying to get over to the shoulder, moving from left to right, when
he was hit by a truck that had been in the right lane.  So yes, he was
a bad driver, but no, the truck did not lose control, and no, he was not
drunk.

                      Seth Lipkin
                      General Computer Company
                      harvard!gcc-bill!lip

"Watertown, New York is an exciting place.  I spent a week there one afternoon."