Advocacy & Safety - Motorist Gets License Revoked

I was reading my paper this morning and saw that the driver who ran through the cyclists in St. Petersburg FL was in court. The end result was that his DL was permanently revoked. He has to pay a $500 fine and do community service. This comes out to be about $30 for each of the cyclists he injured. :rolleyes:

And I bet he stills drives

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/08/Southpinellas/Driver_in_bike_crash_.shtml


Pastore said he did not feel guilty because he did not think he was at fault.

"I'm not saying anything about remorse or guilt. I don't feel any remorse or guilt," he said. "I'm at peace with myself. . . . I know this was an accident."



"Everything that's happened to me in that last six months has been permanent. It hurts. That's all I'm saying," Pastore said.

"I can't be responsible for other people's lives. I don't have the power to do that. Life is not always fair, but it is what it is."


http://tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGAYFT15HMD.html

He didn't even show up to his court hearing.


Pastore was not there and not required to be, County Judge William Overton told the cyclists who crowded benches on the prosecution's side of the courtroom.



receive the maximum penalty for the civil traffic charge: a $500 fine that Pastore, 61, will work off at $7 an hour doing community service.

Sad thing is one of the guys he hit has had his life ruined, he is confined to a wheelchaire and MAY walk with a cane someday. I still think Pastore got off lightly.

I still think Pastore got off lightly.

Me too. On the bright side, those that he injured now have legal proof it was his fault, i'd expect himto be sued, his insurance will pay to the max, and if he has any assets those will be gone too.

I know it isn't nice to gloat, but I hope his life is ruined and his life savings taken, he deserves worse, but it looks like that is all that will happen. Shame he couldn't have been going to the civil trial on state transport in prision blues.

take care,

Jester

And I bet he stills drives

One swift, decisive car confiscation could fix that.

I'm 100% with Chris, the car should be confiscated. With automatic jail time if he is cought driving.

Some states will confiscat cars for misameners or durg related charges, but not if you run someone down, Whats up with that?

This raises another issue -- in California, and presumably in Florida as well, the legally-required liability coverage is something like $35K per incident. This needs to be inflation-adjusted to at least $350K, with basic liability coverage automatically paid at the gasoline pump. Anyone needing to cover additional assets would remain at liberty to purchase supplemental liability insurance on the open market.

"I can't be responsible for other people's lives. I don't have the power to do that. Life is not always fair, but it is what it is." -- This bozo apparently can't be responsible for his own motoring, either.

"I can't be responsible for other people's lives. I don't have the power to do that. Life is not always fair, but it is what it is." -- This bozo apparently can't be responsible for his own motoring, either.

I noticed that quote too. Evidently he doesn't realise that we don't all live in caves anymore. If one is going to operate a vehicle capable of harming "others lives" they must be responsible for "others lives" while ever they continue to operate that vehicle. And once again, it exposes a glaring loophole in the interpretation of society's laws which allows one to deliberately assault someone with their car get away with it after claiming not to see them.

This case may not necessarily have been deliberate. However, given the level of remorse shown, I would suggest that it certainly was no accident. It was at best, reckless. If the law can't protect a victim here, on the basis of this precendent, when can it?

"I can't be responsible for other people's lives. I don't have the power to do that. Life is not always fair, but it is what it is."

He should be locked up for this. Then he would not have to worry about being powerless to be responsible for his actions. Oh sorry, I forgot: he does not worry, he is "at peace". Well, at least then other people would not have to worry about meeting him and his car. What a jerk.

--J

OK, here is the correct link to the news describing his court hearing (the original link had "www" missing):

http://www.tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGAYFT15HMD.html

After reading the piece I take at least some of the "jerk" back: it seems he has thought about this as he agreed to plead no contest and to voluntarily surrender his DL. His original statements are creepy, though.

--J

The St Petersburg paper is covering the story as well. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/index.html?ts=1067962435

Copyright Times Publishing Co. Nov 1, 2003



Wendy Tocha could not have applauded even if she had wanted. Her right arm, which still suffers from nerve damage, was in a sling Friday afternoon, nearly four months after a man driving a Lincoln Continental plowed into her and two dozen other bicyclists.

But Tocha didn't want to cheer.

The 27-year-old, whose neck was slashed open during the July 6 accident, burst into tears after a county judge imposed the maximum punishment against Joseph Pastore, the 61-year-old driver charged with careless driving.

Pinellas Judge William H. Overton revoked Pastore's driver's license for life and fined him $500. The judge said neither jail time nor restitution could be imposed for careless driving, a civil infraction. Pastore pleaded no contest and did not appear in court. His attorney, Nelson A. Guerra, handed over Pastore's driver's license to the judge.

"I don't know how to describe it in words," said Tocha, one of 14 people hospitalized in the accident.

She paused, searching for words.

"I'd rather have him be charged with reckless driving. I don't feel it's enough of a penalty. All these people, their lives have changed," she said as she surveyed the courtroom. Then she began sobbing.

Most of the people gathered in the courtroom, primarily bicyclists wearing slings and braces, and their relatives and friends, cheered. But many also later expressed disappointment that Pastore wasn't charged with a criminal offense, such as reckless driving.

"The fact that he has lost his license forever I think is awesome," Tony Forte, 39, said outside the Pinellas County Government Center. Forte, who suffered injuries to his wrist, leg and jaw, was in the hospital for eight days. "Even though I think he should have been charged criminally it makes me feel good that he's off the street. I'm elated."

Pastore struck the cyclists from the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club and the St. Pete Mad Dogs triathletes' club on a two-lane residential road, leaving a pile of twisted bicycles. The retired Pinellas Park salesman told police he was trying to pass another car when he hit the bicyclists on 30th Avenue N just west of 53rd Street. He also has blamed water in his eyes.

Investigators believe Pastore's poor health and prescription medications might have caused him to blackout just before the crash.

Pastore pleaded not guilty to the careless driving charge at his August arraignment.

Many of the bicyclists felt Pastore should have been charged criminally. Overton noted he had received more than a dozen letters regarding the case.

"We're not here to debate the charge . . . although some of you disagree," Overton told the crowd. "The proper charge has been filed in this case."

On Friday, Guerra, Pastore's attorney, changed the plea to no contest. Pastore changed his plea because he wanted to put the matter behind him right away, his attorney said.

"His life is completely different," Guerra said. "People know who he is and are making his life very difficult."

He declined to elaborate.

Guerra also asked the judge to waive the $500 fine because his client "is in dire financial straits at this time." Overton said part or all of the fine could be converted to community service to be completed at $7 an hour within 180 days.

Two of the injured, Maria Riquet, 51, and David Arnold, 48, remained hospitalized until September. Both were in the courtroom on Friday.

"He should have been charged as a criminal for hurting so many people," said Riquet, who suffered broken bones, vertebrae and ribs, among other injuries. "But I'm happy he lost his driver's license."

Arnold, sitting in a wheelchair as a result of extensive leg injuries, said: "I'm glad he's off the road."

- Marcus Franklin can be reached at mfranklin@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8488.

David Arnold and Maria Riquet were hurt in the July 6 accident. Arnold suffered multiple leg fractures. Riquet injured her back, broke four ribs, broke her leg in four places and suffered a collapsed lung and minor brain injury.

Robin Perkins, facing camera, hugs Carol Jean Vosburgh after Friday's pretrial hearing. Perkins lost part of her left thumb and fractured her left arm in the accident, and Vosburgh's husband was injured.

Does anyone think this fellow will start riding a bike now that he is not allowed to drive? Yeah, right! Second, what's the penalty if he is caught driving without a license? Jail time or just another slap on the wrist?

Now that Pastore has been convicted, the injured cyclists should get together and sue his sorry ass in civil court! I hope they get everything he's got...(except of course, his lousy, remorseless attitude...)

I doubt it is much. I was driving my mom's van one day and a guy with no license and no insurance bumped into me... Well actually I bumped into him as I was backing up.

An officer saw it and came over and asked if we had it under control. I was like saying I don't know and the other guy was saying yes I don't need anything. I don't care about the scratch on the car...

Aparently the officer figured this odd and asked for our license and such. Well that is when the guy got in trouble. But after the officer left I talked to him and found that he got like a $130 fine.

So will this guy ride a bike, no because he knows others like him may hit him on a bike. Instead he will get a car or use his current car illegally because he knows that if he gets stopped then it is no more than a speeding vilation. And I've never heard of a car being confiscated in Florida except for drug charges and that is usually related to the drug bust itself if it is trafficing not drug use. And I think it has to be pretty large trafficing too...

If you knowingly drive without a license, you can be arrested and serve jail time. The officer on the scene CAN just give you a ticket, because he knows it could be a misunderstanding or whatever. That ticket represents a "summons to appear". When the judge asks,"Did you know your license was suspended?" he CAN send you to jail. I've been in the courtroom and seen this happen. It is very likely that if this guy DID get cited for driving without a license, he WOULD get jail, considering his past history (which the judge will be looking at while deciding).
At least here in Florida anyway.

What kind of an idiot would not know whether they had a licence or not? Kind of like forgetting one's own name.

Unfortunately, the 'driving w/o license' types don't typically get stopped until they do something seriously wrong to warrant it, and too often that involves injuries or a fatality to another party. These people don't necessarily have a conscience, and many of them will continue to drive w/o a license until it catches up with them. A drunk driver in Portland killed two cyclists and severely injured a third this past summer. He was 3X over the legal blood alcohol limit, hadn't held a valid license for 17 years, had received numerous citations during that time, and yet, there he was, behind the wheel!!!

Just like the folks who drive without insurance. Sticks us in Florida to carry uninsured motorist so we can protect ourselves. Thanks for costing us all the $$$... Just because they are too lazy to ride a bike! :b