Cyclist0108

He pulled 20 ft of the road to check his phone and a BMW slides into him and then takes off ...

UC Berkeley?s chief lawyer killed by hit-run driver in North Bay - SFGate

The blame-the-victim comments are quite delightful, too.

kickstart

????, Other than some comments from those saying they're personally afraid of cycling on busy roads, there really isn't any "blame-the-victim", although there is someone who's misreading their comments and labeling them as such.

Overall, the vast majority comments seem to be critical of the driver and their actions, maybe I just missed the other or they were edited out.

indyfabz

Doesn't sound like murder under CA law.

Crashola

Comments sections on newspaper websites are always a cesspool of crazy statements. Some couldn't even comment about the death of a cyclist without accusing others of racism.

Cyclist0108

I think that must be what happened. Which is a Good Thing in this case.

Cyclist0108

@indyfabz

I think the current CA law needs to change. Right now, if you run someone over with your car and are drunk or otherwise drugged, you have every incentive to leave the scene of the accident and disappear until you have metabolized the ingested alcohol or drug, and then surrender.

If leaving the scene of an accident, especially where the victim dies, became a second degree murder (or attempted murder -- if the victim survives) charge, I think we would see a lot less of this.

Milton Keynes

The main problem with that is placing them in the driver's seat at the time. When I worked as a police dispatcher, it was common for drunks after wrecking their car to walk home, sober up, and then call in their car as stolen. Of course there was no way to prove they were driving at the time of the wreck.

elocs

I'm too smart to cycle on busy roads when there are lots of viable alternatives. But only a fool doesn't have the good sense to know when they should be afraid.

kickstart

It's all rather subjective, as a transportation cyclist I'm rather thick skinned and destination orientated. What I consider busy and viable might be way over the top for recreational cyclists and non cyclists.
On the other hand, some cyclists may skoff at some of my reservations, and sense of responsible sharing.

KD5NRH

So, more than 24 hours later, they still haven't even dropped by to question this guy?

B. Carfree

Are you even familiar with the road in question? At that time of day and day of week, one often finds many hundreds of people on bikes and very light traffic. I've ridden that road nearly a thousand times over the years at all times of day and night. It's not great, but it's not generally deadly either. Implying that the now deceased head attorney for the premier public university in the US is a fool does show that someone is foolish. Have you no shame?

Cyclist0108

Also, even if he happened to have an IQ of 47, this was a hit-and-run, and the victim was left to die.

Siu Blue Wind

I have a feeling they are trying, but were not yet successful.

FBinNY 

I agree that the law is stupid as it stands, since it provides an incentive to folks who may face a more serious charge if they stay. But some caution is indicated. Possibly raising the maximum penalty to the same as manslaughter if the prosecution can produce evidence supporting a probability that the driver might have been impaired at the time.

Rollfast

Murder implies that he driver knew who the guy was and had a reason to kill him.


First of all, the driver was assumed to be drunk, which is now hearsay unfortunately. Since no arrest has been made yet as far as I can figure out what you have is vehicular homicide which was elevated from manslaughter by felony hit and run.


What also is not clear is if the car's registered owner was found via the license or reports of stolen vehicles.


You might also suspect that the driver committed this act after committing another one. Add it up.


You don't necessarily have the driver identified or the actual suspect, you have a car linked to a traffic fatality and a lot of detective work.


Add the fact that the victim was a top laywer and suddenly the bike angle is probably irrelevant.

Cyclist0108

First degree.

So I guess I really should have titled it "UC Berkeley's top lawyer homicided by hit-and-run driver"

My bad.

FBinNY 

Murder, manslaughter, homicide, etc. are legal terms with specific legal implications.

A simpler headline would have been .... "killed" by hit and run driver.

FWIW - I've never been thrilled by statements like "UC's top lawyer", or whatever which seem to imply that this particular victim's status in the community matter. IMO all lives have equal legal status, so I'd be happier with "Cyclist" or if writers want to include more of a descriptive, "lawyer" or even Berkeley lawyer, as long as there's no subtle implication of specialness.

Cyclist0108

I killed an animal once with my car by accidently running it over. (However, I stopped and found the owner.)

"Killed" implies a possible absence of malice.

A hit-and-run in which you leave someone to die is a form of murder. I chose the word deliberately to make that point. I apologize if you happen to disagree with my choice, but I disagree your word is a better one. I would even go so far as to suggest that phrasing it in the way you do is part of the ongoing problem.

FBinNY 

No problem.

It's a forum, and would be very boring if we agreed all he time.

You obviously want to imply more that the facts may bear out, I prefer to stick to the facts as known. There's nothing here demonstrating any intent or malice toward the victim, and the prosecutor will likely have to charge based on what he feels he can prove, according to California Law.

Cyclist0108

Leaving the scene of an accident (which I take to be an established fact), and leaving the victim to die, demonstrates intent and malice toward the victim. If I was a prosecutor, I would make exactly that argument to the jury.

FBinNY 

Unlike us, prosecutors are strictly bound by the specific language of the law. Some states (maybe including California) have laws that address responsibility to one's victims. However, if they don't the judge won't even entertain a charge, or raising the issue to the jury at trial on the other charge.

So you may feel it's murder, or leaving the scene while the victim is dying should be, but unless the legislature says it is, it isn't.

However, the judge may consider all related issues when determining he sentence, within the limits prescribed by the law.

Iride01 

Murder is a felony and comes with a whole bunch of serious legal consequences and stigma. Manslaughter may or may not be a felony depending on the facts brought out in the case.

Leaving the scene of an accident adds to the seriousness of the crime irregardless and usually more prejudice by juries against the perpetrator whether or not state law allow them to assess more penalty.

Mandating that all accidents like this must be Murder might make some juries less inclined to convict in some situations.

So would you rather have them go completely free? Or accept a manslaughter conviction?

B. Carfree

The alleged killer, Robert Ritter, appears to be a piece of work. No license at age 28. Gee, I wonder how he lost his license. I've been through that neck of the woods many times during commute hours (not recommended, btw) and have never seen a bicycle commuter so I would hazard to guess that he regularly drives without a license.

At least there's a felony charge.

Suspect arrested in hit-and-run that killed UC Berkeley chief legal counsel ? East Bay Times

B. Carfree

If I assume that the killer is the person arrested and that he lost his license due to driving drunk, he's lucky he didn't do his priors in Orange County. The DA down there has been forcing drunk drivers to sign off on paperwork that guarantees a second degree murder conviction if they ever kill someone while driving drunk.

Frankly, I feel like that signing that form should be required for a license or to take possession of a motor vehicle and that hit-and-run should be treated as drunk driving. Lucky for all the drunk drivers, no one is electing me Emperor any time soon.

Chris0516

Involuntary Manslaughter under California law would fit.