thanks.

I appreciate your response. However, what you did was still wrong, you lied, or at the very least decided to hide the truth from a court of law.
While I understand that you might have wanted to maintain he severity of the case, it probably would have been wise to come out with the truth, partial vision is still not the same as full vision, the court should know that and there are still other things to prosecute the driver on. Best of luck.

If he's made any kind of statement under oath, then yes.

Lucklust, I hope you recover and can do things that you like to do again.

Here's the last story I could find. Just FYI for those unfamiliar.

http://www.marinij.com/fastsearchresults/ci_3476740

And one more recent AP story.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...8G4D3T04.shtml

Man, that story got some serious run. ABC site, CBS site, Seattle Times, Biloxi paper, Minneapolis paper, etc.

There's even a picture of him making a speech out there (I think).

http://www.lighthouse-sf.org/TheLigh...noldspeaks.php

Call me cynical, but I think that has a lot more to do with how this turned out than anything else.


Good. I hope you win, Torrin. Regardless of how badly your sight is impaired, he hit you and then drove off. For that, he deserves to be punished. A criminal conviction would have been good, but monetary damages may actually have more impact (no pun intended).

Thanks for standing up for all cyclists. It's absurd that we have to go to court to defend our right not to be run over, but unfortunately, that is the case. Thanks for doing what needs to be done. I hope you make a full recovery. :)

the thing that people seem to be forgetting is that the criminal case should have been about the fact that the defendant struck torrin with his car, and then drove off and had to be cornered by witnesses before turning himself in. the blindness was a bodily injury, which could have increased the severity of the punishment, but hit and run is still a felony, with or without permanent injuries.

I don't think anyone's forgetting this. If Torrin had been honest from the start, that's exactly what the case would have been ALL about, and that road-raging **** would probably have been charged with felony hit and run by now. Another one off the streets. Instead Torrin has very publicly confirmed the unfair stereotype of a reckless, irresponsible cyclist, prepared to go to extrordinary (not to mension illegal) lengths to punish a motorist, increasing his own compensation payments into the bargain.

I predict (and honestly hope) that Torrin will be back on his bike soon after all the legal preceedings are over.

i haven't heard of him being arrested for anything, which is usually the consequence for doing something illegal...what exactly did he do (that pertains to his court case) that was illegal again?

the man cannot see, this is from someone who has actually been in his presence. i am ****ing floored by how many people here believe that he was faking. they could have introduced torrin's own medical records in court, but they didn't. torrin wanted it to go away after all this, the DA wanted it to go away, and most importantly, arrigoni wanted it to go away, and so it did. that's the way it works in this country, the person with the biggest gun wins.

errm... perjury?

If the man cannot see, he should get a second opinion before his vision improves any more.

I don't know why you're ****ing floored by this.

Not being honest = being dishonest = faking.

It's just a matter of degree.

"this is ridiculous. there's so much to say and i don't have the time, or the energy to say it.

Torrin is one of my closest friends. He loved riding his bike, and every day that he's not on his bike is killing him. he has always been one of the most driven, most upstanding people i know. if anyone out there thinks that an organization that spends tens of thousands of dollars to train a guide dog would just give one away without testing the recipient, or getting legitimate medical records first, get a god damn clue. the same goes for the braile/orientation school and the other organizations that have given so much to Torrin.

i never thought this criminal case would turn out well for torrin. the guy has too many friends and has gotten away with too many crimes in the past to be taken down by this. hopefully, the civil case will go better than this did and the jackass will pay through the nose."

from onetinsloth. repeat, "if anyone out there thinks that an organization that spends tens of thousands of dollars to train a guide dog would just give one away without testing the recipient, or getting legitimate medical records first, get a god damn clue."

best thing I've read in any of these posts. let it die.

Yikes most of us discover that lying is a problem by loosing a friend who discovers the truth. That is painful enough, but to have the whole thing played out in the public arena that has got to be tough. The emotions and reactions of others when publicly admitting this must be a very difficult way to learn that one of a person’s most important assets is their credibility. You are getting a lot of support here, and I know that you must have considered that your actions could cause others to be negatively affected.

If you are going to get your 15 minutes, you have to find a way to make the most of it. It is very possible to turn this whole thing around 180 degrees with the right combination of contrition, embarrassment, and sincerity. Your mistake clearly does not negate the other’s mistake, but now it is on you even more, to do all that you can to turn this around.

Right. These guys obviosly arn't seeong the same medical records that the district attorney saw. What's going on here?
IMO, Torrin should get a honest full visual assesment from a reputable doctor (i.e. one where he is honest to the doc about what he can see and what he can't). Only then can he make any further progress in this matter. Without reliable evidence that he has a real problem with his vision, he has no crdibility in court.

When did everyone on this board find time to go to ****ing law school?

It takes less time than medical school.

My bottom line is that he tried to get over on others becuase he was done wrong. Getting done wrong is one thing, and justice should be served for that.

But a lie is a lie, and lying is wrong. And that is a moral absolute for me. What some of you people are on about is simple situational ethics, and it is not a terribly defensible position.

So, I might not be taking the most human approach vis-a-vis Torrin's current situation. Sorry.

you really are an a$$.. a self rightous one at that.. and one pretentious enough to use "vis-a-vis" seriously..

you have no idea how you'd react in this situation.. so hop down from the high horse, dude... this isnt a "wallet left on the counter" moral exercise...its amazing you wonder why people are telling you to shut up.

<raises hand> You can find the time to do anything you want to do.

And on that note... a lot of the posts have no idea what they are talking about legally, and are looking at the legal world very narrowly.

I know I wouldn't lie about my medical condition in an effort to reap financial gain. I know that becauase I value my integrity above all. The fact that I have studied ethics has only solidified my belief in the importance of integrity. That is why Torrin's demonstrated lack of integrity is appaling to me, and that is a separate matter from his medical condition. Any sympathy I have towards his medical condition is diminished by my contempt for his lack of integrity. I'm sure that others feel this way too.

For Torrin: Whatever pain, lonliness, and self realization you have been through this past year, I hope nothing more than that you will one day put this all behind you, regardless of what physical consequences you must live with. I hope that you will always continue to be the fun and happy person that I knew. You are very bold to admit you flaws, and only a person of the highest integrity can admit they were wrong.

I wasn't being serious. I was actually trying to use sarcasm to point out that a lot of people are/were shooting their mouths off about things of which they probably have little to no actual understanding.

i heard you loud and clear the first couple of times...it's funny you studied ethics.. because its very obvious, hence my "wallet on the counter" quote.. its nice that you get to view the world like a textbook example.

to me, you just prove torrins point that people don't understand the vagueness of partial blindness and instead can only comprehend absolutes. What im saying is, unless you've experienced something similer to torrins medical condition, regardless of what percent blind he actually is, spare us the "i would nevers..." How can you even begin to claim what you would do without going through all the emotional pain such a situation causes?

So take all your self-rightous contempt and name calling somewhere else, it is pompous and hollow.

I hate getting in internet pissing contests.....I can't sit this out. In fact, I'm upset about how fast people doubted Torrin and talked trash without knowing the whole story, but I'm more upset with our lack of community support.

We do have a lot of new riders or at least new people in the forum. All of us seem to be really opinionated, which I have come to expect people in here. In fact I have come to expect 2 things from people in SS/FG.
1. We all have something to say about anything and everything
2. We always take care of our own.
From when i was a messenger, I knew that no matter who's fault it was, if i saw a cyclist get into it with a car that I would rush to the cyclist's aid. If I ever see a cyclist in need, I help out. If a fixie rider comes in my shop and needs something I hook them up the best I can. Even right now with my broke hand, one of the fixie riders loaned me a car to get to my orthopedic appointment. WK has given me serious career advice, INKDWHEELS gave me my frist fixie and taught me everything I know about survivng on the streets on a bike. We built Nolageek a new bike after Hurricane Katrina. When Brandie (http://www.myspace.com/brandeleen) died in NYC we all felt that pain, we all feel the same rage for drivers who don't respect our lives. We are a community, a group rooted in culture and many of us are very new to this culture. Some of you I've known for 3 or four years only through internet contact and still consider you close personal friends whom I would do anything in my power to help. Torrin was one of the old school when I got here and his accident was the first I really saw people come together on here. Its sounds so stupid, but we will destroy part of what makes riding a fixed gear so great if we keep tearing each other down. So many of us seem more than willing to attack the character of a man we have never met and had no contact with. So many people seem willing to take sides based on a few articles instead of getting alot of insight into the history of the accident. If you dig through the forum at one point Torrin or someone close to him did report that his vision had been improving. Also from early on, there was a discussion as to how the legal case would play out considering how highly connected the driver was.
I guess I'm asking for solidarity. If you want to bicker and cast blame for other issues involved, I know safety and advocacy forum is all about blaming the cyclists for problems on the road or with their lives. For those attacking his legality, I just hope none of you ever run a red light or violate a single law because then we are just getting hypocritical (and we already are). I used to consider a large part of this forum like a family or network of close friends, now I feel like I couldn't trust alot of you to help me off the road after a hit and run.
Maybe I saw something in here or on the bike that wasn't really there, or ever will be or dissappeared along time ago. I can't help but most feel pity for those of you who come in here with a chip on your shoulder or an attitude of F*** everyone else or F**** this guy. I pity you because you miss one of the best parts of riding and of fixie culture, but no matter what I'd still back any of you up on the streets or in a courtroom and I'll mourn for everyone of us hurt and those tragically struck down because I was taught to do so. Torrin was one of the people who taught me that a few years ago and even if I hold issue with the way he may have handled certain things, it would never keep me from standing by his side.

"If the punks are united, they will never be divided"
-The Casualities

I've said my piece, I'm sure many will hold issue with it, some will hopefully agree and maybe some might even change their minds about some things. All I know now is that everyone of us will still be very opinionated. My hand hurts, I'm going to put my splint back on now.