On Friday, 24 January 2020 12:05:11 UTC-5, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, 23 January 2020 18:15:41 UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jan 2020 12:55:02 -0600, AMuzi wrote:
On 1/23/2020 12:32 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 1/23/2020 11:05 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Seems that in Florida if you hit a large group of
bicyclist from behind and kill two of them that it's NOT a
criminal offense.
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a3060...ign=nl19163056
"Despite that, (Vanderweit’s actions are) considered a
traffic offense and not a criminal matter, so she walks
away with a slap on the wrist."
She should never be allowed to drive again.
I just watched the local report:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ0fAK2Z_r8
Something similar happened a few years ago here, in Thailand, a pickup
hit and killed two cyclists. Although with somewhat different results.
"truck driver, 25-year-old Worapong Sangkhawat, was seriously injured
in the crash. He told police his truck hit the cyclists as he was
reaching down to pick up a cap from the vehicle's floor...
The driver faces charges of causing death by dangerous driving, which
carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail."
--
cheers,
John B.
What I don't understand is how any driver can NOT SEE a group of FIFTEEN OR MORE bicyclists. That alone staggers the mind plus the fact she was driving 10 mph over the speed limit.
Cheers
Looking at other reports of this I found this:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/b...zxu-story.html
"Police said Vanderweit, who had left her boyfriend’s house that morning, was driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone just five seconds before the crash."
So she was 15 mph over the limit not ten.
Further:
"She told authorities she didn’t see the group of 15 to 20 bicyclists who were traveling at nearly 20 mph and had looked down “for a second,” possibly to reach for her pack of cigarettes, when she felt the impact, according to records. Data from the airbag shows she was driving 66 mph at impact.
A crash expert told prosecutors that Vanderweit should have been able to see the bicyclists almost 10 seconds in advance of a crash but did not begin to brake until between 1.1 and 2.5 seconds before hitting them, according to records."
and further down:
"Prosecutors said her carelessness did not rise to the level of a criminal charge of vehicular homicide. To charge her with a crime, they’d have to prove reckless driving, where the driver shows a “willful or wanton disregard for safety."
And driving that much over the speed limit in that area is not "reckless driving"? Nor is taking her eyes off the road?
"Prosecutors would need to convince a jury she was driving “intentionally, knowingly and purposefully with a conscious and intentional indifference to consequences and with knowledge that damage is likely to be done to persons or property.”'
So driving that much over the speed limit in t hat area does not constitute any of that? NUTS!
In Florida bicyclists' lives are cheap!
Ah, this clarifies it a bit.
https://www.fortlauderdaledaily.com/...nobody-charged
"Florida Statute allows police to charge a driver who kills someone while operating a vehicle in a reckless manner with felony vehicular homicide. But if the driver wasn’t acting in a reckless manner when the deaths occurred, the driver may not be at fault, even if the driver was speeding or ran a red light."
So speeding or running a red light is Florida is not deemed as reckless driving. Amazing and in my opinion ludicrous.
Video (2018) of the aftermath showing the car, road and some of the wrecked bicycles.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/109758679-132.html
Cheers