SOLVED. Short story from 60’s or 70’s family driving in highway traffic jam... Spoiler ahead. [s]

[Mrfezziwig]

I read this short story in early 70’s. A family is driving in a highway and the parents are bickering. They end up in a traffic jam that they can’t get out of; no exits all of a sudden. Then they realize everyone is stuck and they are all headed to something that’s burning; I.e. hell.
I read this in English class with a lot of famous short stories- The Necklace, Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, Open Window. The only other contemporary story I remember was A&P. So i think this isn’t by an obscure author. It wasn’t in a book; it wa s kind of a binder where the teacher selected the stories she wanted and you put them in. Thank you!

[Mrfezziwig]

Still looking for this short story- thanks!

[Rosa]

"The Jam" by Henry Slesar?

[Mrfezziwig]

No, that’s not it, but thank you for responding.

[AL]

Similar enough to warrant a mention, but I'm not sure is Flannery O'Connors "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

[Rosa]

Doesn’t really sound similar at all.

[Mrfezziwig]

Bump

[Nikki]

Ok I know this is not helpful but I found this post because I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS BOOK TOO! Every once ina while I think about it and google is no help at all. I'm just glad I am not crazy and didn't just imagine its existence. I really hope someone can come to the rescue!

[Andria]

I think the short story is Freeway to Wherever by Maurice Ogden. The only summary I can find for it is "A family finds themselves driving on a freeway without exits to an infernal destination."

It originally appeared in the Southwest Review, Summer 1959, and is included in the collection Impact: Short Stories for Pleasure.

If you have a JSTOR account (and if you don't you can sign up for a free account that lets you access 6 articles/month) you can read the story here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4346...

[Mrfezziwig]

Oh my gosh, this is it. Thank you so much - it was driving me crazy!