by Guy Page
The coordinator of the 40 Days for Life prayer presence at the Barre Planned Parenthood narrowly avoided serious bodily harm yesterday when a car driven by someone leaving the abortion clinic drove towards him and almost struck him.
The event occurred three days after someone scrawled “Baby Killer” in red paint on the siding and sign of the Washington Street/Highland Ave. clinic. With no known basis in fact, individuals from the clinic and the neighborhood have connected the vandalism with the 40 Days for Life presence.
Kelly reported in his daily newsletter last night:
“At about 11:10 am this morning a woman departing the PP parking lot drove her car in my direction as I walked up Highland Avenue with a Pray to End Abortion sign; she drove down Highland toward Washington St. and turned right,” Kelly said.
“Her car had swerved in my direction and I dodged out of the way and leaned against the hood and fender of her car with my right hand. No physical harm done. Immediate preceding the maneuver she provided a familiar obscene hand gesture with an angry look on her face. I called the police and gave them her VT plate, HCS294. Officer Jacob Frey called me back after he had apparently telephoned her. The operator (a patron of PP not an employee) admitted to Officer Frey that she nearly hit me but said it was an accident. She lost control because she was upset that her appointment had been cancelled. I told him I doubted her story because of the gesture.”