Michael Dutton Douglas
Michael Dutton Douglas (November 16, 1945 – November 6, 1963) was the 17-year-old former boyfriend of Laura Welch (later First Lady Laura Bush)[1] who was killed when Welch, also 17, failed to stop at a stop sign while driving and broadsided his vehicle. Welch was not ticketed or charged in connection with the collision.
Douglas and Welch were students together at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas. Douglas has been described as an active athlete, physically attractive, and intelligent. He was nominated as the school's most popular male student while a junior, an honor typically awarded only to graduating high school seniors.
In May 2000, a two-page police report detailing the fatal crash was made public. The report revealed that on November 6, 1963, Welch was driving her Chevrolet Impala sedan with one passenger (Judy Dykes, also 17). It was a clear Wednesday night, shortly after 8 p.m., when Welch entered the intersection of State Highway 349 and Farm to Market Road 868 (now Loop 250) (at 32°02′37″N 102°05′07″W / 32.04362300°N 102.08530400°W).[2] Welch failed to observe the intersection's stop sign and collided into Douglas' Chevrolet Corvair sedan. Welch and Dykes sustained minor injuries; Douglas was pronounced dead on arrival at Midland Memorial Hospital. Welch was not charged with any offense, not even for inattention to the stop sign while driving, which would be 'Failure to obey a traffic control device'.
The future First Lady made a brief remark in March 2000 about the crash, "I know this as an adult, and even more as a parent, it was crushing ... for the family involved and for me as well."[3]
Sources
- ^ "Claim: While a teenager, future First Lady Laura Bush caused the death of a classmate in a car accident. Status: True.", Snopes.com
- ^ "Laura Welch Bush 1963 Car Accident Site", Virtual Globetrotting, 2005-09-18.
- ^ Vertuno, Jim. Mrs. Bush ran stop sign in fatal crash, USA Today. Published May 3, 2000.
External links and references
- Andersen, Christopher, George and Laura: Portrait of an American Marriage, Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN 0-06-621370-3, (pp. 83-94).
- Gerhart, Ann, The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush., Simon & Schuster, 2004. ISBN 0-7432-4383-8 (pp. 1-17).
- Roddy, Dennis B., "The Book on Laura Bush", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (p. A1.)