My wife has spent a fair amount of time in school car lines over the years, and she passes along the result of this serious breach of car line etiquette reported by the Chronicle:
A spat that started almost a year ago, in the line to pick up children after classes at the Village School, will move into a Houston municipal court today as a 40-year-old mother faces a misdemeanor assault charge.
Sandra Chiang denies reaching into Shannon Rechter’s sport utility vehicle and slapping her in the face afterRechter cut in line while other parents were waiting and chatting outside the school. Chiang could be fined up to $500 if convicted.
The incident ignited a yearlong feud that has included the assault charge, a counterclaim of vandalism, allegations of harassment and the removal of Rechter’s two children from the school.
The two stay-at-home mothers had never met before Dec. 13, 2003, when Chiang left her car idling as the carpool line moved forward, and Rechter, 38, wedged into the space ahead of her.
“She immediately began yelling at me for cutting in line, and the more I tried to explain the madder she became,” Rech-ter said.
“At that point, she reached in, struck me across the face and quickly ran back to her car as if nothing happened.”
Chiang contends that her SUV was “keyed” by Rechter several weeks later. The hood and a door were scraped, causing an estimated $1,600 in damage, she says.
For some reason, the case is not high on the radar screen of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office:
Rechter says school officials and law enforcement authorities didn’t take her seriously when she first reported the incident.
It took numerous calls to police and the city prosecutor’s office to get the case scheduled for trial, she says.
My wife’s question: If I was defending this case, would I try to strike for cause anyone on the jury panel who regularly has to sit in a car line?
My answer: Only if they don’t cut in line. ;^)