December 02, 2005
Text-messaging driver accused of hitting cyclist
Victim died 2 days after accident; 17-year-old charged with misdemeanor.
From the AP:
Updated: 10:27 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2005
"HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. - A teenage driver accused of text messaging behind the wheel and hitting a cyclist was charged with a misdemeanor, authorities said.
The 17-year-old was charged with careless driving causing death, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
The victim, Jim R. Price, 63, was riding his bicycle Nov. 23 when he was hit by the teen’s car, said Lt. Alan Stanton, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Price died two days after the accident.
The teen has not been identified because he is a minor. Authorities said he lost control of the car because he was sending text messages on a cell phone. He was issued a summons and ordered to appear in court, authorities said."
A misdemeanor does not seem like ample punishment for killing a man on his bicycle, but I think I understand the nature of the law here. If you are driving a car and cause an accident with another car, and inside that car were one or more people who perished as a result of the accident, then you as the driver are not punished by law, assuming that you were not driving under the influence or being careless. Perhaps the person who died inside the car wasn't wearing his seatbelt. That wasn't your fault.
On the road, we as cyclists want to be treated as vehicles so that we can use the same roads as motorized vehicles. As drivers, we mess up sometimes and cause accidents, but never with the intent to kill someone. The teenager in this new story was being reckless without intent to kill. He could have hit another car, or he could have run his own car off the road. Unfortunately, circumstances were different, and he hit a cyclist.
The same punishment would probably be invoked if the kid had hit a car and killed an occupant. The law projects the message that the cyclist accepts the risk involved with riding on the roads without a layer of (steel) protection to guard against injury from accidents.
Ride at your own risk.
Posted by megabeth at December 2, 2005 11:05 AM