Comments on: Woman receives maximum jail sentence after laughing over bicyclist homicide

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:39:41 +0000

…i’m tired of saying it, but it’s all about education & the message is not getting across to the people who “tolerate” us…until every vehicle owner understands that they will encounter cyclists every day they drive for the rest of their lives & learns to rethink & react accordingly, more of us will regularly die because of selfish habits…

…because we “share the road” , cycling is the concern of everyone who drives whether they cycle or not, but the average driver does not think in those terms…in fact, we’re only considered w/ any validity when we “get in their way”…

… this selfish, murdering, alcoholic woman will get out well before ten & a half years are up…& i’ll bet she’ll “need” a drink to face reality…

By: Paul in Minneapolis

Paul in Minneapolis — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:32:49 +0000

She is too much like many people here in the U.S.. I have had a police chief terrorize me for riding my bicycle legally. I have had motorist threaten my life in front of police officers and they did nothing. This was in the last year and a half in Fort Oglethorpe, GA. I did not back down to the police or run from any motorist. I have also know motorist who have mowed down, killed, peole while they were crossing the street, and most of them got away with it. Much less did it bother them. I do blame the TV, newspapers and talk radio media, who are funded by greedy corporations, as to forming our culture in to this type thinking.

Our childern are going to pay for our car-culture!

By: r.

r. — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:52:42 +0000

In Memphis we have our own menace in John Ford’s ex-wife. She was pulled over for a suspected DUI with her kids in the back of her car. A couple of weeks later she
“borrowed” a car and went out to get beer while the owner reported the car as stolen. These people will re-offend and will find ways to get a car regardless of the license.

People who drink and drive are alcoholics. They need help and I think 50 years to life behind bars will get them all the help they need.

By: rick

rick — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:10:27 +0000

She got exactly what she deserved. There obviously was a pattern of driving drunk. I have absolutely no compassion or tolerance for someone that drinks and drives.

By: JoelGuelph

JoelGuelph — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:50:34 +0000

Here’s another nice one: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnYGQfJrrKsp-WFxi8wk8hy7mb-QD8UD2HM01

The guy is suing the parents of the teen cyclist he killed for the damages to his Audi. Wow.

By: Choke

Choke — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 07:40:12 +0000

I’m a prohibitionist, so I tend to think drunk drivers getting anything short of a death sentence is lenient. From a realistic point of view, getting 10.5 years for killing a guy while driving drunk on a suspended license still seems a bit lax. What’s scary is that she’s 45 and has prolly been driving drunk since she was a teenager.

By: Mike Myers

Mike Myers — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 07:07:33 +0000

I agree that she should have her license revoked for life. But I think lifetime license revokation should happen for lots of offenses—third offense DUI, any DUI which results in death or permanent disability of the victim. or any negligent crash in which a car hits a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist and causes death or permanent disability.

First and second offense DUI? Caning. 15 lashes with a cane should reduce recividism nicely.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 04:27:06 +0000

Don’t let this girl drive again. Let her take the bus, or better yet, ride a bike! the rest of her life. Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege that I believe she has lost. For good.

By: Kk

Kk — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:20:45 +0000

Simply ghastly that anyone would fail to show remorse, let alone apathy for killing someone by negligence. I too am surprised, given a history of DUI offenses that she wasn’t charged with manslaughter. It’s not an accident but a statistical probability that she would eventually cause injury or death by her reckless behavior.

By: Mauricio Babilonia

Mauricio Babilonia — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:31:02 +0000

Another article about this case can be found here. It tells how her defense team offered the obligatory in 50 states “Ooopsie-Daisy” argument:

“Assistant county public defenders Matthew Messmer and Michael Rosenbluth contended the crash was simply a tragic accident.”

Yup, she got drunk (even after having attended a MADD seminar on the societal impact of drunk driving after her first several offenses), got in her pickup ( even though she had no valid driver’s license) and tried to weave home. On the way, she decided her hands were dirty and she needed to sanitize them. It wasn’t her fault that stupid cyclist was there! Nobody could have seen that coming! See? It was just an accident!

The really great thing is that if she plays her cards well in prison, she could be out in 3-5 and be right back behind the wheel. I’m sure that her next kill will be an accident too. All because the jury didn’t have the stones to convict her of manslaughter.

Ooopsie-Daisy!