About a year and a half ago I wrote the following about a former student of mine:

Tom Cruise look-alike, smooth-talking, thirteen-year-old Diran even had the older nuns under his spell. He was nearly expelled from Catholic school for smoking in the boys’ room, but given a warning instead. He finally was kicked out when he brought a knife to the school. Not one of my successes.

Today I learned that middle school was only the beginning. A little over two months ago he was involved in a high-speed two-state police chase.  Four years before that he was snatching purses from middle aged women.

He really wasn’t a bad kid. I expected him to grow out of his “bad-boy” phase and go on to college and end up successful. He certainly had the personality for it.  I expected, someday, to read about him in the paper — but not like this.

I wonder what happened. Why he risked his life and the lives of others by racing through the countryside high on medications.