Michael Dutton Douglas

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Official police report (click to enlarge).

Michael Dutton Douglas (November 16, 1945 - November 6, 1963) was a 17-year-old acquaintance of First Lady Laura Bush (then Laura Welch) 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. According to some accounts, Douglas was a former romantic interest or ex-boyfriend of Welch.

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 Dyke, 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. Welch failed to observe the intersection's stop sign and collided into Douglas' Chevrolet Corvair sedan. Welch and Dyke sustained minor injuries; Douglas was pronounced dead on arrival at Midland Memorial Hospital. Welch was not charged with any offense.

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." [1]