According to her friends it remains the key event which has shaped the character of Texas First Lady Laura Bush.
When she was 17 years old, the future wife of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, then known as
Laura Welch, made a mistake that killed her boyfriend.
On Nov. 5, 1963, at 8 p.m., Laura was driving east on Farm Road 868 in her hometown of Midland en route
to a party. At a dangerous intersection, she allegedly failed to see Mike Douglas, also 17, heading south on State Road 369.
Laura, traveling with her best friend Judy Dykes and allegedly chatting about clothes, collided with Douglas’ Jeep,
which was doorless. He was thrown from the vehicle and broke his neck, dying instantly.
“She didn’t see him, he didn’t see her,” says Dan Harris, who also was cruising Midland that night, with
Laura’s close friend Beverly Girdley.
“It was a terrible accident.”
The Midland City authorities have declined to release the full accident report. They have referred Freedom of Information
requests for release of the document to the attorney general of Texas, who has until May 15 to decide if he will make the report public.
SOURCES in Midland’s City Hall say they have heard Texas Gov. George W. Bush will use his influence to make sure the report is never released.
Laura Bush Killing A Man In Texas