Illinois Woman Convicted of ‘Improper Lane Usage’ After Striking and Killing Cyclist While Downloading Ringtones to Her Phone and Driving
Urbana, Illinois
- He was wearing a helmet.
- The road is a well traveled route for cyclists and joggers.
- She has three prior convictions (disregarding a traffic light and two for speeding).
- She was so far off the road she struck him from behind with the driver’s side of her vehicle.
- He died from head injuries 6 days later.
- She gets to keep her license, has to pay $1,000 fine, go to traffic safety school and has to undergo 6 months of unsupervised (Why bother?) probation.
The girl released a statement that somewhat cools the rage in my veins at things like this:
“I never meant to do anything like this. I know that no matter what I say or do I can never take back what has happened or undo the hurt and grief I have caused. However, I still wanted to say that I am very sorry,”
Yes it’s tragic, and she shouldn’t be driving, but I think that the real problem here is the disregard for the cyclist shown by our legal system. State’s attorney Julie Rietz released a statement reflecting this:
“This is a tragic case and one which has demonstrated to us there are many things we can’t adequately resolve in this building, unfortunately. The law doesn’t give us an adequate remedy to address the loss to the Wilhelms and society,”
She made the call not to lodge any more serious charge than improper lane usage against the girl, saying that the legal definition of recklessness, to sustain reckless homicide or reckless driving, did not fit her actions.
Ughh, this is awful. Hopefully it will have a galvanizing effect on the bike community.
Woman Sentenced for Bicyclist’s Death - News Gazette
Further Reading for Bikers:
- Paul Dorn’s Bike Commuting Tips
- BBC Health Headline: Wearing Helmets ‘More Dangerous’
- Is The Bicycle the Health Care/Environmental Silver Bullet We’ve been Looking For?
Technorati Tags: cycling, accident, legal, safety, system, tips, helmet
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POSTED IN: Cycling, Media, Prevention
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