Confrontation of youth haunts him for lifetime.

Byline: Dianne Williamson

COLUMN: DIANNE WILLIAMSON

Frank Harwood was 10 years old in fall 1985 when he headed to Honey Farms. The store didn't have the candy he wanted, so he asked an older friend on a dirt bike if he'd drive him to another store.

The request would trigger a bizarre chain of events that would change their lives and haunt Mr. Harwood to this day.

"He's finally trying to go back and make sense of things," said his mother, Judy Feldman. "It devastated his life. He ran from that day for a long time."

On that day, Sept. 28, 1985, the two boys drove to a store on Windham Street. Frank bought his candy while his 14-year-old friend waited outside, revving the motor of his dirt bike. According to Frank, the noise angered a man using a pay phone outside the store. The man and the boy exchanged words, and the man hit his friend, Frank said.

The boys left and drove around the block. Then, perhaps because they were boys, they circled back to the store and flipped the bird to the man as they drove by.

The man's 22-year-old son, who was sitting in the passenger side of his father's Ford LTD, slid behind the wheel and began chasing the dirt bike. The boys tried to outrace the car, but at the bottom of Vernon Street the car barreled over the fleeing bike. The collision sent Frank flying into the car's windshield. His friend was dragged more than 70 feet under the car until the driver sped away.

Both boys would spend weeks at the old St. Vincent Hospital. Frank suffered head injuries and a broken femur. He was in a body cast for more than two months and missed most of the fourth grade. When he finally returned to school, he was on crutches. His friend also suffered multiple injuries.

I learned of the accident when Mr. Harwood called the newspaper looking for old stories about it. He initially said he was prompted by his doctor's request for background about his injuries, but it became clear as we spoke that he was looking for something else.

"That guy tried to kill us," Mr. Harwood said. "I remember everything that happened. It's a hard thing. I often wonder if it changed my whole life."

He acknowledged having "anger issues" as he grew older. Initially he channeled his aggression on the football field at Doherty High and Worcester State. He would be arrested several times for bar fights, and his police record would dash his hopes of becoming a cop. He worked for the Department of Youth Services until a young boy's car accident flooded Mr. Harwood with anxiety. He served as a bouncer and now receives state assistance for post-traumatic stress disorder. The accident also took a physical toll. His right leg is longer than his left and he suffers back pain and arthritis.

"I've never known how to deal with anxiety," he said. "I get paranoid. I'm not an angel and I've been in some fights."

As for his 14-year-old friend, Mr. Harwood lost touch and never heard much about him until everyone in Massachusetts did. On Feb. 1, 1994, Kenneth Padgett was 22 and breaking into homes in Holden with two other men when Paxton Police Chief Robert J. Mortell followed them into the woods. The chief was fatally shot by Mr. Padgett's accomplice, Michael Sousa. Mr. Padgett is serving a life sentence for his role in the killing.

"Kenny got really messed up by that accident," Mr. Harwood said. "Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it's any excuse for what he did later. I just don't know if either of our lives would have been different."

The driver who hit the boys, Peter P. Nelson, was sentenced in 1986 to 2 years in the House of Correction. Efforts to contact him last week were unsuccessful; he lived in Connecticut for a time but family members said he cut them off and they have no idea where he is.

"I often wonder why he did it," Mr. Harwood said. "I have to live with it for the rest of my life. Maybe I just wanted to talk about it."

Mr. Harwood isn't sure if the accident on Vernon Street shaped the lives of the men who were involved. But he knows, 24 years later, that it's time to re-examine its darker roads.

"It's been hell for him for a long time," his mother said. "I think he's finally brave enough to put the pieces together."