To the truck driver with the bright blue lights heading westbound on Avenida Simi from Tapo Canyon on Dec. 16:

It was just a little after 6 p.m. that evening as I turned my vehicle left to head west behind you. The street was dark. Lemon Park was seemingly empty. Two cats darted out from the dark grassy area into your path.

One cat avoided your vehicle. You turned toward the other and accelerated. Then you veered suddenly and struck the second cat.

I heard you laugh. My window was down and so was yours. I could not get your license plate. You left after hitting the cat.

You did not stop. I did.

I picked up the cat. It was bleeding profusely from the mouth and its right paw.

I carried it gently to the side of Avenida Simi. It was purring loudly.

I said to the cat over and over, “I’m sorry this happened.” I just wanted this cat to have the last feeling of hands upon it to be gentle ones.

In just a few short minutes, the cat passed on. I contacted the owner of the house where the cat had just died. He said that both cats were favorites of his grandchildren.

May the forces of the universe return to you a hundredfold of what you did to an innocent animal that night.
Tom Baker
Simi Valley