Something really bad happened this weekend and I would like to know...

[bkreugar]

We had a good Thanksgiving and then a great shopping friday. Friday note my DD13 went skating as she often does. Sat morning soon after she woke up she was in tears. This is why:

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/200898/1/Dennis-Gonzalez-14-Killed-In-Early-Morning-Accident

So it was first on facebook and it took us a bit to find it was in fact true. This child had walked with our DD sometimes home from games after school. My dd considered him a close friend , as there is a close group who goes skating EVERY weekend. She is pretty torn up and I am handling that and they seem to be doing a decent job in school with counseling.

I can't BELIEVE anyone would let there kid walk anywhere at midnight. My dd is not allowed to stay out that late. We pick her up at 10, and she saw him at 10. Said goodbye to him and what not.

HERE is where I am mad, other than a a parent letting their kid walk at that hour, HOW could they not charge the woman with ANYTHING?????

The police say he was walking on SIDE of road not IN road, but was walking WITH traffic and wearing all dark clothing. It is not a well lit road, but does have a grassy flat side. SO i just can NOT understand why no charges!!!

And though I am a 40 yr old adult, the kids are abuzz with the lady getting a pass because she is an older white woman and he was hispanic.

Total honesty here we are white so it's not like i'm trying to pull the race card, but the kids are ALL on fire with it.

HOW can she not have ANY ANY charges?????

 

[CheekyMare]

walking WITH traffic and wearing all dark clothing. It is not a well lit road

That is in all likelihood why no charges. Sad, but he (and his parents) also bears some responsibility for making sure he got seen. The onus should not be 100% on the driver.​

 

[Mattemma]

That is how it goes with accidents. I still can't get over a 72yo woman that pulled out infront of a truck carrying sand,which caused the truck to hit a car killing mom,dad,2 little boys,and their dog.They were heading to a park for the day celebrating the couples anniversary. That was years ago,but I remember them. What good would jail do?

Another 50+ yo woman recently did a hit/run on a boy walking home from school.It was his 13th birthday the NEXT day.She tried to pass off the damage as a deer accident.She will probably serve no time.

Same in this case I guess.Very sorry to read of this. Hopefully others will learn from this tragic mistake. With distractions the way they are these days you put yourself at high risk of being hit even in the daytime!!!!

 

[bkreugar]

Quote:
I AGREE completely with the risk of being hit during the day!!! It makes me mad but I guess that is my brains way of trying to put some sense to it!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

It was midnight and he was dressed in dark clothing with his back to traffic (so a black outline on a dark shadowed side of the road). You said the police report said he was walking along the side of the road. I would interpret that as to mean he was walking along the edge, not off in the grass. Did it say that her car left the road to hit him? If not then he was walking along the road.
I'm sorry that this young boy died, but it really doesn't sound like it was the woman's fault at all. She likely didn't see him. I'm a lot younger than 61 and I know that I have almost run over any number of college age kids in dark hoodies coming out of poorly lit areas on campus. It's like they just appear out of nowhere. And this is on campus where I am going 15 mph and I expect to see people walking.

She will likely punish herself more than the police could anyway. I'm sure she is wracked with guilt. She will never forget that she killed this boy, whether it was her fault or not.

I'm so sorry that your daughter has lost someone that she cared about. It is such a hard thing.

 

[desertdarlene]

Unfortunately, they can ony do what the law allows. If the lady was not doing anything wrong, then it was just an unfortunate accident. It happens a lot. I remember when a small child darting out in the street after the ice cream truck was killed. The person driving the vehicle tried to avoid her, but couldn't. It was an accident and not the driver's fault.

It's also possible that the kid sneaked out of the house, but I don't know. I have seen some parents let fairly young children stay up and go out really late nowadays.

 

[Matthew3590]

Now that I am a driver I know why my parents always had a hard time driving at night and seeing other people on side of the road/sidewalk with dark clothing. All it takes was for her to be a little close to the side and he be a little close to the road and they can strike. He might not have noticed the car and she might not have noticed him. Accidents happen.

 

[Sharisr32]

Hope your dd is ok hard on kids but similar to our car wreck 21 year old texting ran the red light texting isn't illegal so she couldn't be charged with more then running a red light @ 55mph w/an accident -- - I have been out of work 3 months - Life has hard times it's just worse when the young ones see that-

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Not being charge NOW, does not mean NEVER will be charged, but it still sounds to me like a pure accident. One should NEVER walk with their back to traffic, and ESPECIALLY not in the dark. Drive on the right side of the road, but as a pedestrian, walk on the LEFT sidfe, FACING traffic. If out at nght, wear REFLECTIVE clothing so that yhou will be seen.

It is tragic that this young boy lost his life, and that his friends and family must cope with the grief, but that does not mean that someone else was at fault for what happened.

 

[RHRanch]

Quote:
X2 - Unless it turns out the driver was somehow negligent (like being drunk or on drugs), it was most likely an accident with no criminal malice or intent behind it.