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Cyclist dies, drunk driver gets 150 days in jail.
150 days in jail only because she fled the scene of a suicide.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/175783.html |
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not working for me either!
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"The bicyclist's acquaintance reported he was drunk ... and 'playing chicken' with cars" |
2 drunks on the road.
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Maddy you must have misread. The girl wasn't drunk. She just had some drinks.
I originally refrained from commenting (probably just like most of us??). If this was a drunk hitting a cyclist riding properly with lights and all, I'm sure there would be a couple pages of replies already. There is nothing pro cycling here (I'm not saying this should have not been posted, it's a good post). Just a sad set of circumstances for the girl; and she has to suffer now. Of course I say this with a salt of grain. It's a media article. Maybe there is a reason beyond fleeing why she got 150 days--maybe it's just not said--such that reactions such as mine above are evoked. |
Originally Posted by LCI_Brian
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The girl wasn't drunk. She just had some drinks. Granted, BAC levels have different reactions based on person, tolerance levels, etc., but .08 is about the time when you start telling someone they're drunk... it's also about the time you go home with the person you later regret going home with... .02-.03: Mild relaxation, some lightheadedness, inhibitions slightly lowered, mood intensifies. .05-.06: Feel warm and relaxed, lose feelings of shyness, behavior may become exaggerated, emotions intensified, mild sense of euphoria. .08-.09: Believe you’re functioning better than you actually are, slurred speech, sense of balance and motor skills become impaired, ability to see and hear clearly diminished, judgment affected. Your ability to evaluate sexual situations is impaired. .10-.12: Feelings of euphoria, but lack of coordination and balance. Motor skills, judgment, and memory markedly impaired. Emotions exaggerated. People often become loud, aggressive, or belligerent. Men may have difficulty achieving erection at this stage. .14-.17: Euphoria changes to feelings of unpleasantness, difficulty talking, walking, or standing. Judgment and perception are severely impaired. Aggression and increased likelihood of accidentally hurting yourself or others. May experience a blackout. .20: Feelings of confusion or disorientation. Unable to walk or stand up on own and probably wouldn’t realize it if you hurt yourself. Nausea and vomiting may occur (though vomiting can occur at lower stages for some people). Blackouts likely. .25: All mental, physical, and sensory functions are severely impaired. No emotions. Increased risk of choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself. .30: A stupor. Little comprehension of where you are. Might pass out and be difficult to waken (which could occur at lower BACs). Alcohol poisoning can result in death. .35: Can stop breathing at this point. Alcohol poisoning can result in death. .40: Coma. Alcohol poisoning can result in death. |
Well, I'd say that while the driver probably shouldn't have been on the road, it was an honest mistake. She misjudged her ability to drive as she was right on the cusp of the legal limit. Not something I would do or that anyone should do, but not incredibly heinous.
With a BAC of .25%, I'm surprised the cyclist was even staying on the bike. |
I think the article sums things up pretty well. Had she not had a 0.08 BAC the situation would've played out the same--the guy still would've been hit by a car because he was riding like a ******. This even comes from his own friend who was with him. Yes, the driver of the car continued driving, but then came back a few minutes later. She was punished for both driving while impaired and for fleeing the scene. Everything sounds like it worked out the way it should have.
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Were it not for Darwin, these two might have met up and procreated.
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No sympathy for the cyclist. And, while drunk drivers need to die, some for the driver. As was mentioned, it would've happened whether she was drunk or not.
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Originally Posted by unkchunk
Who would of thought. I mean, he was 10 and 0 going into the finals.
What a Billabong that guy was. You know, when we hear about cyclists getting hit by cars, we automatically start to criticize the driver. Here we have the case of a severely drunk bicyclist doing incredibly stupid stuff on his bike in traffic. A drunk on a bike does not equate to a cyclist. |
Had the driver been sober (and undistracted by cell phones or similar abominations), she would have my complete sympathies in this case. It sounds like the crash was entirely due to the cyclist's own stupidity. I wouldn't even convict her of fleeing the scene, unless given strong proof that she really WAS fleeing, rather than continuing on autopilot because her brain had shut down in shock. (I wouldn't buy that excuse had she driven home and hidden, but since she pulled over a half-mile later and returned to the scene on her own, I can't see the proof of malicious intent you would need for a felony conviction.)
The fact that she was drunk, even at the borderline level of 0.08% BAC, changes things. She's still not primarily at fault for the cyclist's death -- he was riding with three times her BAC, and was pulling blatantly stupid stunts in traffic -- but if she'd been cold sober, she MIGHT have been able to take evasive action in time. Or she might not. But it is her fault the question even exists. In this case, I think the 150-day sentence is just about right: long enough that she'll never forget how wrong it was to get behind the wheel that night, but short enough to acknowledge that, unlike most drunk drivers who kill someone, she's not actually a murderer. Of course, I would add a very long or permanent driver's license suspension...but that has nothing to do with the fatal crash; I'd do that for every drunk or willfully distracted driver. |
Whatever the circumstance, it must really suck to hit a bicyclist or a pedestrian with an automobile. Man, how could you ever forgive yourself or forget it? I would have nightmares about it for the rest of my life.
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