Forum Discussion
- Wow, not sure why we even have court when you can make all of these decisive conclusions from a story filed by a news reporter. I have yet to see an accurate and complete news story on any occasion where I have personal knowledge of the event and often the story is totally wrong. But, apparently everyone else knows what happened. So much for a jury of peers.
- Johno02---drunk drivers don't get off regularly if at all.
Generally, a drunk will get charged with manslaughter in Michigan if there is a good driving record. 2nd degree murder with a bad record. Best one could hope for is a year in the county with most going to prison. 2nd degrees murders will get over 5 years in prison. MADD changed the results of these cases decades ago.
If a person makes bail, they will be out there, legally or illegally. Driving on a suspended or with no license doesn't bother a lot of folks. Unfortunately, most judges don't care much about locking folks up for suspended license. - There is a lot said about how bad the driver was, and how much more he should have been punished, how he was let off easy, and how bad he was for killing a person. I don't know any of the details, but I do know that section of road. It is normal for traffic to roll far above the speed limits, and it is crowded and rushed. Coming up on a problem in the road or on the side, it may well have been impossible for the driver to swerve or even slow quickly. When you are driving any big vehicle, MH or Truck, at traffic speeds with other vehicles around, in front and back, many less than ten feet from you, it is not like driving a car on open road. For the extent of the punishment, there may have been more involved.
As far as punishment, this happens every day in every state, and many innocent lives are lost, caused by drunk or distracted drivers. Most get off with a slap on the hand, or a letter to parents. You want to do something about that, its time to start. We see major accidents happen daily by drivers that have been arrested many times for the same drunk or distracted driving, and they are back on the road in the same condition the next day. so much for should not be allowed to ever drive again. - I have been in the safety business for 40 years and those who are saying it is just an accident are deluding themselves. The driver made a conscious decision to drive at the speed he was traveling. The driver made a conscious decision to try and go between the truck and the cruiser where, looking at the picture, there was no where near enough room. If he couldn't stop in time then he made a decision drive faster than his abilities. Was it deliberate? Of course not. Was it just an accident? No. It was certainly avoidable and better decisions by the driver would not have led to the death. As far as the sentence by the judge. I wasn't in the courtroom so I can't comment but he will have to live with the tragedy for the rest of his life.
- Thanks for posting the outcome as I've been following this one fairly closely. As Dutch posed, there is more to this which I posted in June:
What I could never understand/figure out is why were they blocking two of the four lanes at the same spot on I-65 so people could get on more easily at the exit in front of them. Best I remember is that there was not an accident on I-65. IF the Response Unit had blocked one lane at the beginning of the curve with his sign saying "two right lanes closed ahead" I doubt this accident would have happened. Still terrible for all involved.
The situation that worries me the most is going into dense fog (all of a sudden) and slowing way down so maybe you can see what's in front in time, but not so much that the guy behind does not hit you. If the traffic stops in this situation I'm going to park as far off the shoulder as I can get... even if I get stuck. Safe travels. dodge guy wrote:
Well that's how it should've turned out. It was an accident not intentional!
Sorry for the loss of the officer and his families suffering!
I agree whole heartedly with the above. A horribly tragic accident and huge loss to the officers family. No amount of money or restitution can makeup for this, not even the moronic comments and wishes of ill will toward the guilty party as stated by other posters herein. It was an accident.- Before crucifying the driver of the RV, YOU were not there. YOU were not in court. YOU are not the judge. AND YOU could have done the same thing yourself! If it WERE you, then everyone on these forums would be saying YOU got off too light too and really deserved more! Put yourself in the shoes of the drive and just think about it? None of us are "invincible!" The photo of that man could easily be yours (or mine).
I HONESTLY do not think that guy woke up in the morning and said, "Hey today is a good day to run over a cop! I think I'll go out and do that today!" - I agree. What happened does not fit the definition of an accident. That guy should never be allowed to drive an RV again.
- He should have been sent to prison
- I suspect that his age and health were considerations in the sentencing. Also if he had no previous tickets or reckless incidents on his record, the judge may feel that he is not a threat to the general public and nothing will be gained by locking him up.
Personally I think he was (and probably is still) an aggressive, careless driver who expects everyone else to get out of his way.
So far as the restitution part of it.... I expect there is a civil suit forthcoming, if not already filed. So whatever insurance he has will be paying off, probably in a much larger amount than the legally required restitution.
