Saturday, August 25, 2018

Here, there and everywhere, "In crashes that kill pedestrians, the majority of drivers don't face charges."


Drivers surely comprise the most privileged class of Americans in history. Who else is able to wreak this much havoc with so little fear of punishment? Apart from the Pentagon, I can't think of any.

In crashes that kill pedestrians, the majority of drivers don't face charges. Between 2010 and 2014, there were 3,069 crashes with pedestrians in the Twin Cities and its suburbs. 95 were killed. 28 drivers were charged. But many of the deaths weren't even judged worth a traffic ticket.

I googled "how often are drivers prosecuted for killing pedestrians?" The top result says it all.

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Most drivers in crashes that kill pedestrians don't face charges ...

www.startribune.com/in-crashes-that-kill-pedestrians-the...drivers...t.../380345481/


May 22, 2016 - The majority of drivers who killed pedestrians between 2010 and 2014 were not ... Those who were charged often faced misdemeanors — from ...

Carol Wiggins crossed Territorial Road every day at the crosswalk on her way home from work in Watertown. But the driver of the car that hit her one evening said he didn’t see her until it was too late.

Wiggins never recovered from the traumatic brain injury from the 2011 crash, dying weeks later in a Minneapolis hospital. The driver never faced any charges — not even a traffic citation.

“It doesn’t help with trying to get any kind of closure,” her daughter, Monica Fortwengler, said. “You always have that little bit of, ‘Why was my mom’s life not deemed worthy of even a flippin’ traffic ticket?’ ”

The decision not to cite the driver who struck Wiggins isn’t unusual. The majority of drivers who killed pedestrians between 2010 and 2014 were not charged, according to Star Tribune analysis of metro area crash data. Those who were charged often faced misdemeanors — from speeding to careless driving — with minimal penalties, unless the driver knowingly fled or was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
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There are plenty more where that came from.

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Drivers in pedestrian fatalities rarely charged, prosecutors say | The ...

https://www.macon.com/news/local/article31898907.html
Aug 22, 2015 - Drivers who hit and kill pedestrians are rarely charged in those incidents, according to prosecutors and law enforcement officials.When drivers ...

Drivers who hit pedestrians often get little or no jail time - Orlando ...

www.orlandosentinel.com/.../pedestrian.../os-pedestrian-enforcement-20130709-story....


Jul 9, 2013 - Drivers who strike pedestrians usually receive little or no jail time, found a ... "When you killed our Bobby, you took an innocent," sister Penny Stout, 49, ... The Sentinel identified 54 drivers charged with criminaldriving offenses ...

Few consequences exist for drivers who kill pedestrians - SFGate

https://www.sfgate.com/.../Few-consequences-exist-for-drivers-who-kill-4473786.php


Apr 29, 2013 - When drivers did face criminal charges, less than 60 percent had their driving ... Few consequences exist for drivers who kill pedestrians .... Forty percent of those convicted served no more than a day in jail; 13 drivers were ...

Sober drivers rarely prosecuted in fatal pedestrian crashes in Oregon ...

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/.../sober_drivers_rarely_prosecute.htm...


Nov 15, 2011 - But details are often sketchy because most pedestriandeaths ... Tito Jose Feliciano, the driver who killed Lindsay Leonard and Jessica Finlay.

Drivers who kill people on bikes often don't get prosecuted – Greater ...

https://ggwash.org/view/.../drivers-who-kill-people-on-bikes-often-dont-get-prosecute...


Mar 17, 2015 - Authorities rarely prosecute the drivers, and when they do, punishments aren't very harsh. During ... Drivers who kill people on bikesoften don't get prosecuted .... I can say that when cyclists are behaving aspedestrians (on ...

The Outrageous, Unjust Rule That Lets New York Drivers Who Hit ...

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2014/10/the...drivers...pedestrians.../380980/


Oct 1, 2014 - Local officials have tried to turn the terrible incident into social progress by ... from properly investigating, charging, and prosecuting drivers who kill. ... On the flip side, drivers who merely hit a pedestrian or cyclist—even hopping ... of a car sometimes, the list of problems with the "rule of two" is a long one.

Driver charged with slamming car into pedestrian, killing him

https://nypost.com/.../driver-charged-with-slamming-car-into-pedestrian-killing-him/


Jul 1, 2018 - An unlicensed driver was arrested on Sunday after he hit andkilled a ... p.m. when he lost control and drove onto the sidewalk, authorities said.

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