The Associated Press
Thursday, March 2, 2000; 7:15 p.m. EST

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– Laura Bush, wife of GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush, on Thursday recalled the pain of a 1963 accident that killed her boyfriend, saying "it was crushing."

"All I can say about that (is) it was a very, very, tragic accident I was involved in when I was 17 years old, almost 40-something years ago," Bush said. "It was a terrible accident. It was terrible for everyone involved."

Bush said the grief remains.

"I know this as an adult, and even more as a parent, it was crushing ... for the family involved and for me as well," she said.

Bush would not comment further and quickly resumed talking about her husband.

The accident occurred Nov. 5, 1963, when Bush was talking to a friend while she was driving to a party in her hometown of Midland, Texas, the New York Post reported.

At an intersection, she apparently failed to see her boyfriend, Mike Douglas, driving south. The vehicles collided and Douglas was thrown from his doorless Jeep, breaking his neck. He died instantly.

Midland officials would not release the full accident report, referring Freedom of Information requests for the document to the attorney general of Texas. He has until May 15 to decide if he will make the report public.

An abbreviated version of the report concluded neither Douglas or Bush could be blamed for the accident, the Post reported.