Blame it on the new car smell
#1
The Rock Cycle
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Blame it on the new car smell
Martin Erzinger May Have Fallen Asleep Due To Smell From New Mercedes
The smell of a Morgan Stanley wealth manager's new Mercedes may have caused him to fall asleep at the wheel and hit a bicyclist in a July hit-and-run incident in Edwards, Colorado.
According to court documents, Martin Erzinger, a Denver-based Morgan Stanley wealth manager, allegedly swerved onto the shoulder and rear-ended a bicyclist named Steven Milo before speeding away.
Milo suffered significant spinal and facial injuries in the accident.
The case caused a national uproar in November when Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the Vail Daily News that Erzinger would not face felony charges because they may affect his job.
more....
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_796562.html
The smell of a Morgan Stanley wealth manager's new Mercedes may have caused him to fall asleep at the wheel and hit a bicyclist in a July hit-and-run incident in Edwards, Colorado.
According to court documents, Martin Erzinger, a Denver-based Morgan Stanley wealth manager, allegedly swerved onto the shoulder and rear-ended a bicyclist named Steven Milo before speeding away.
Milo suffered significant spinal and facial injuries in the accident.
The case caused a national uproar in November when Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the Vail Daily News that Erzinger would not face felony charges because they may affect his job.
more....
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_796562.html
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#2
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Odd... I never heard of a soothing aroma causing someone to flee the scene of a crash.
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If someone would like to send a new Benz our way I'd be willing to test the power of its aroma.
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The apologists attached to this case are just sickening. Its not his fault, its the car's fault. Its not his fault, its his sleep apenia. Its not his fault, its because he fell asleep! And even if it was partly his fault, he shouldn't have to face serious consequences because he's a "respectable" member of the community.
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I can think of two, sorry, three reasons for this defence:
1. He's lying
2. He's lying
3. He's lying
1. He's lying
2. He's lying
3. He's lying
Last edited by atbman; 12-16-10 at 12:36 PM.
#7
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#10
Lost Again
I'll bet the DA was was customer of the driver. Got to be some kind of impropriety here. If the driver was some working class chump, he would have had the book tossed at him.
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the DA is trying to keep the victim from testifying at the sentencing
#14
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The DA is trying to keep the victim from testifying? Oh, yes - something is amiss.
As for doughboy's defense (new car smell, indeed), perhaps a call needs to be made to Mercedes-Benz. I'm sure their lawyers would get on the stick right quick at the prospect of their product being held culpable for this incident (not "accident"). I'm sure a quick and nasty letter from the M-B lawyers would put an end to that. The DA can be bought off, but not M-B. Besides, how is it that he's the first and only (that I've ever heard) person that was lulled to sleep by that new car smell?
As for the whole sleep apnea defense: What bollocks! Let's just say that's true, then he's still culpable for driving when he knew he had this condition, right?
I sure as hell hope that someone in CO gets their head out and screws this &$%@! to the wall. The DA simply needs to be disbarred.
As for doughboy's defense (new car smell, indeed), perhaps a call needs to be made to Mercedes-Benz. I'm sure their lawyers would get on the stick right quick at the prospect of their product being held culpable for this incident (not "accident"). I'm sure a quick and nasty letter from the M-B lawyers would put an end to that. The DA can be bought off, but not M-B. Besides, how is it that he's the first and only (that I've ever heard) person that was lulled to sleep by that new car smell?
As for the whole sleep apnea defense: What bollocks! Let's just say that's true, then he's still culpable for driving when he knew he had this condition, right?
I sure as hell hope that someone in CO gets their head out and screws this &$%@! to the wall. The DA simply needs to be disbarred.
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I saw something about sleep apnea too, in which case the guy needs to be out from behind the wheel
#17
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Furthermore, my client did not consciously flee the scene. He unconsciously fled the scene, for he was still asleep. He did not know that he hit a Communis...er, cyclist. He dreamt that he went over a little bump, then continued on his way, in his dream where he was driving to the hospital to donate both kidneys to needy orphans with substance abuse problems. You cannot hold a man accountable for what he dream, can you? I mean, I dream of killing my wife almost every night, and honestly, who among us hasn't dreamt of murder? Does that make us killers?"
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actually, the driver said he checked and didn't see a car or pedestrian so he left the scene after calling 911. There was no record of the call.
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Sleep apnea, really? Sleep apnea doesn't make you fall asleep at random times. That's a different condition called narcolepsy. If he's narcoleptic, he shouldn't be driving.
But then, if he can't avoid slower moving objects near the side of the road, he really shouldn't be driving, anyway.
New car smell has made me physically ill, in the past. Never made me fall asleep, though.
But then, if he can't avoid slower moving objects near the side of the road, he really shouldn't be driving, anyway.
New car smell has made me physically ill, in the past. Never made me fall asleep, though.
#23
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That's an issue with an adversarial legal system. When the lawyer's aim is to prove their client's case rather than find the truth what do you expect will happen?
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The core idea of our judicial system, that every "alleged" (I hate the overuse of that term, btw) criminal is entitled to a defense, has been b*st*rdized by the lawyers into parsing each and every nuance of the law, rather than a pursuit for justice and equity. The only comfort I get from that is that, yes -- they will burn for it.
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If you think that's weird...in a local case a drunk driver ran up on the sidewalk and killed two pedestrians and injured a third. The survivor is suing the driver. The driver's lawyer was counter suing saying the pedestrian was partially at fault for not wearing a safety belt. I think it's the "let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" defense.