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Post by sader1970 on Jan 7, 2024 12:19:52 GMT -5
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jan 7, 2024 12:27:30 GMT -5
I know nothing about this case, but as a lawyer my first thought when I saw this story is that the coach's son got special treatment. In 47 years I've never seen someone who ran over and killed a pedestrian charged with only a minor moving violation (failure to yield); I think it's rare. He could get off with a fine and loss of license.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 7, 2024 12:59:52 GMT -5
From the possible maximum penalty, a life in Iowa appears not to be worth as much.
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Post by Ray on Jan 7, 2024 17:14:20 GMT -5
I know nothing about this case, but as a lawyer my first thought when I saw this story is that the coach's son got special treatment. In 47 years I've never seen someone who ran over and killed a pedestrian charged with only a minor moving violation (failure to yield); I think it's rare. He could get off with a fine and loss of license. Probably should have stopped at "I know nothing about the case", and done the five minutes of googling needed to get better informed.
This isn't even the latest article... McCaffrey did in fact get sentenced to a $1,000 fine and 6-month lost of his license.
I bolded some key passages. Clearly a tragic situation all around, with zero evidence of preferential treatment.
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Post by res on Jan 7, 2024 18:52:02 GMT -5
Very poorly titled thread, under the circumstances, and definitely off-topic.
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Post by HC92 on Jan 7, 2024 19:19:50 GMT -5
Not sure how the driver gets charged with anything if he had no ability to react differently than he did. Definitely a sad situation for all involved.
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Post by bison137 on Jan 7, 2024 19:23:10 GMT -5
Not sure how the driver gets charged with anything if he had no ability to react differently than he did. Definitely a sad situation for all involved. I think the reason is that a motorist, when approaching a marked crosswalk, is supposed to slow down as much as necessary if his view is obstructed.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 7, 2024 20:14:36 GMT -5
Those crosswalks and flashers take some getting used to. This was a sad situation for all involved.
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Post by trimster on Jan 7, 2024 21:58:45 GMT -5
I know nothing about this case, but as a lawyer my first thought when I saw this story is that the coach's son got special treatment. In 47 years I've never seen someone who ran over and killed a pedestrian charged with only a minor moving violation (failure to yield); I think it's rare. He could get off with a fine and loss of license. Probably should have stopped at "I know nothing about the case", and done the five minutes of googling needed to get better informed.
This isn't even the latest article... McCaffrey did in fact get sentenced to a $1,000 fine and 6-month lost of his license.
I bolded some key passages. Clearly a tragic situation all around, with zero evidence of preferential treatment.
"Drivers must yield to pedestrians even if they don't know they are there?" How is that doable.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 7, 2024 22:04:36 GMT -5
Deal with this regularly on Marco Island, FL. You need to be sure you can see all of the crosswalk and keep your foot on the brake...not the gas until you can.
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Post by bison137 on Jan 7, 2024 22:26:31 GMT -5
Probably should have stopped at "I know nothing about the case", and done the five minutes of googling needed to get better informed.
This isn't even the latest article... McCaffrey did in fact get sentenced to a $1,000 fine and 6-month lost of his license.
I bolded some key passages. Clearly a tragic situation all around, with zero evidence of preferential treatment.
"Drivers must yield to pedestrians even if they don't know they are there?" How is that doable. easy. If you are approaching a crosswalk where you are required to stop if there is a pedestrian near the crosswalk, then you should slow down to make sure there’s not a pedestrian that you can’t see. Thankfully, most people do that.
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Post by trimster on Jan 7, 2024 23:34:06 GMT -5
It sounds like it happened on a road with two lanes in each direction. It gets very dicey when a driver in one of those lanes stops to let someone walk and drivers in the next lane keep moving. More and more crosswalks have flashing pedestrian lights which help.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 8, 2024 7:20:16 GMT -5
Further complicating this, at least in my mind, was the testimony that a mail carrier in a mail truck was stopped in the right lane.
Mail trucks routinely stop to deliver mail. Often times one needs to simply pass them while they are at the mail box. Not sure if she had her flashers on. If she did, there might have been an assumption she was stopped to put mail in the mail box and her truck likely blocked the view of not only the pedestrian but the car ahead of the mail truck.
I stand by my title, btw, it is a very sad story and it is not off topic, res. This is standard nickname for the basketball coach.
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jan 8, 2024 8:32:07 GMT -5
After Googling, as suggested, my opinion remains the same. The fact that one police office said the driver couldn't stop isn't dispositive. Clearly, he didn't mean to kill anyone, but in my experience someone who did this would have been charged with more: driving to endanger at least, and there are some DA's who would charge this as motor vehicle homicide.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 8, 2024 8:54:02 GMT -5
There are cameras at seemingly every intersection these days -- any video footage?
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Post by alum on Jan 8, 2024 8:59:26 GMT -5
I did a little Googling as well. I didn't go through the Iowa statutes but found this summary from a county DA's office. www.polkcountyiowa.gov/county-attorney/general-trial-bureau/vehicular-homicide/#:~:text=A%20person%20commits%20a%2025,vehicle%20in%20a%20reckless%20manner. If this is thorough, it would appear that simple negligence is not enough to charge someone with any kind of vehicular homicide offense under Iowa law. Now, newfieguy is right, plenty of prosecutors would have chosen to call this recklessness and seek a stiffer penalty. In Connecticut, there is a statute covering one who negligently causes the death of another while driving and which carries a maximum penalty of six months and a fine. I have seen young people charged with this and given a suspended sentence and probation pursuant to plea agreement.
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Jan 8, 2024 12:12:57 GMT -5
The sad news is not about the son (who got off lightly); it's about the victim.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 8, 2024 12:53:42 GMT -5
I see it as about both. The son will now go through the rest of his life carrying the weight of having taken a human life. That can be quite a burden.
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Post by bfoley82 on Jan 8, 2024 14:09:52 GMT -5
There are cameras at seemingly every intersection these days -- any video footage? It is Iowa...things are a little different out there.
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Post by hc1998 on Jan 12, 2024 12:30:51 GMT -5
I know nothing about this case, but as a lawyer my first thought when I saw this story is that the coach's son got special treatment. In 47 years I've never seen someone who ran over and killed a pedestrian charged with only a minor moving violation (failure to yield); I think it's rare. He could get off with a fine and loss of license. Really? Do you order reports about every accident around to follow up and see what drivers are charged with? Often the facts warrant no charges at all, which occurs quite frequently in my experience...granted mine is only about 1/2 of yours. Its possible you've only followed those that include charges, and often with cases in which someone is charged, the charges are much more serious...as is the level of responsibility of the driver.
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Post by nhteamer on Jan 12, 2024 12:55:21 GMT -5
This thread diminishes us.
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Post by res on Jan 12, 2024 17:03:21 GMT -5
This thread diminishes us. Yes. His wife is fair game with respect to her behaviour during multiple games but a tragic accident involving his son is not. At the barest minimum, it does not belong on the basketball thread.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 12, 2024 18:28:29 GMT -5
Agreed.
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