Drunk driver lives in 'own hell'

[calloway]

Anyone feel sorry for her? Sorry... but I don't. It's part of the punishment.

A driver who was drinking beer before causing the death of her teenaged passenger is a suitable candidate for a non-custodial sentence that would include lecturing on the tragic consequences of impaired driving, her lawyer says.

"What serves the greater good under a horrible set of circumstances?" Leo Kinahan told Ontario Superior Court yesterday.

On March 6, 2006, Dawn Cox, now 39, was driving a Ford Explorer on the Gardiner Expressway with her boyfriend in the front seat and 17-year-old Ravi Madhai in the rear.

The teen had been doing odd jobs for Cox that day. The three went to a west-end bar for beer, although Madhai did not have alcohol.

Around 10:20 p.m., Cox was speeding and driving erratically west of the Humber River when her Explorer collided with one car and forced another driver to swerve.

The Explorer spun out, struck the curb, and slid along the guardrail. Madhai's head broke through the rear side window and hit a support post, killing him instantly.

This spring, Cox pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. Kinahan said his client has accepted complete responsibility and is "living in her own hell."

Kinahan submitted 72 letters attesting to Cox's character. She told the court and Ravi's family she had "no words to make this better."

Outside court, Madhai's sister Roshani read a statement: "No family should go through what we have gone through.

"Please don't drink and drive."

Justice Bonnie Croll reserved her decision until Friday.

 

[tboy]

Do I feel sorry for her? No. Can I understand that a normal sentient being would (or should) feel horrible about what happened? Yes.

Now you get into what is appropriate punishment? Is this the first time she's driven DUI? Was she even charged with DUI? The story simply states "had been drinking beer". I remember the thread on here about the change in the level for being charged with a warning or a DUI charge and there were a LOT here who adamantly stated that they should be allowed to have a couple of drinks and drive home......

Was alcohol a factor in the crash?

I am wondering what the sentence is via the Criminal Code but it can't be much, one gets a slap on the wrist for murder and a severe scolding for manslaughter......

 

[oldjones]

Dangerous Driving causing Death

(4) Every one who commits an offence of dangerous driving under subsection (1) and thereby causes the death of any other person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Sentencing her should be focussed on prventing her from ever having another 'accident', and restitution—in whatever way possible—to the victim's family and society.Locking her up will certainly do the first, but not the second. Punishment will do her no good and cost us a lot.

The theory is that punishment will deter others if it is severe enough, but that's clearly a fallacy, witness the posts here from guys who brag they can tell when they're 'still OK to drive'. That's what she said. No one's luck lasts forever.

One can imagine there was no charge of 'over.08' because, in fact she wasn't. She now knows what it's like to ask herself, "If I had just had a Coke, would that kid maybe be alive?"

But even if she gets 14 years, I don't believe those Boasting Bozos will get it. The question isn't "Can I drive?", it's "Can I face some dead kid's mother and tell her I'd had one or two?"

 

[tboy]

I'm with you OJ. I mean, from the sounds of it, it mostly was sort of a "goofing" around accident. Should she drive? Never again. She should lose her licence forever.

You also touched on something that I have thought about for years: restitution. Locking someone up is only going to cost us the taxpayer. Sure, she should do some time. She should also be held financially responsible in some sense. For eg: those kids that killed that cab driver. They should spend the rest of their lives supporting the family whose breadwinner they killed. No question about it.

She took a life. At the very least she should spend 10 yrs (???) or more working for charaties or social programs to give back a little of what she took.

 

[SkyRider]

You also touched on something that I have thought about for years: restitution.

I think financial restitution must be pursued through the civil courts. The state can only pursue her through the criminal courts.

 

[Aardvark154]

Outside court, Madhai's sister Roshani read a statement: "No family should go through what we have gone through.

"Please don't drink and drive."

Justice Bonnie Croll reserved her decision until Friday.[/I]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjdThaJVTW4&feature=related

 

[Brill]

The teen had been doing odd jobs for Cox that day.

Too bad she wasn't wearing protection.

 

[Sammy the Bull]

I'm all for the Determinator® : http://www.stopdwi.com/

If I were POTUS I'd sign that into law tomorrow, all cars must have it

 

[tboy]

I think financial restitution must be pursued through the civil courts. The state can only pursue her through the criminal courts.

exactly my point: unless the victim's family has a powerful lawyer, the perp or convict would win. It should be automatic.

For example: in many US prisons the prisoners have "jobs". One I saw produces office chairs. They earn a pittance but it allows them to purchase luxury items in the canteen like: hand cream (don't go there lol) etc. In a situation like this, any income earned should go immediately to the vic's family. In the doc I saw on the prison situation, a lot said they don't do it for the money, but to ease the boredom of incarceration.

But does anyone know if our F'd up insurance system would allow the vic's family to sue the driver? It should.

 

[oldjones]

The driver's facing a criminal charge and penalty so one might hope the Victims of Crime afund might also offer some help to the victim's family. However, if I'm right abought the fund and our legal concept of restitution, there's an ugly business of calculating the dollar cost loss to the claimant. And any parent could tell you a kid costs money; they don't make a cent raising a kid to adulthood. And they'd have to hire a lawyer to make whatever case they chose to follow.

So I think a dozen years of public service probation would have a better chance, and maybe give the driver the sense of social connection she waited until she killed someone to acquire.

But wouldn't it go a wee ways to making it a better world if the bereaved parents had access to a decent lawyer they way they have to their doctor? And don't you think if our various governments had to manage a LegalCare Plan coming from taxes, they would suddenly find incentives to 'fix' the courts and the tort system? Maybe even do a better job of detecting bad driver attitudes and correcting them before expensive and tragic 'accidents' happen.

 

[Hurricane Hank]

Hopefully she gets more than the 30 days that NFL player Stallworth got for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk.

 

[Nickelodeon]

This came across as since she's "living in her own hell", that should be sufficient punishment except for maybe some local community service.

The victim's family was stunned by her statement that her "personal hell" was sufficient punishment.

I'm with the family on this one, she is a insensitive xxxx; yes I think the "c" word is appropriate here.

 

[1HandInMyPocket]

I saw the segment on the news last night and what I thought was appauling and disrespectful was what the women said (i'm paraphrasing); 'I loved Ravi like a son and that he was having the best time of his life, and that he (Ravi) told me that if I died today, I'd die happy'

She also said that she felt that she can better served the community by speaking out against impaired driving, something she can't do in prison. I don't know why she can't do that after she serves time.

If she really is living in her own hell then prison should be a breeze.

 

[rhuarc29]

Sentencing her should be focussed on prventing her from ever having another 'accident', and restitution—in whatever way possible—to the victim's family and society.Locking her up will certainly do the first, but not the second. Punishment will do her no good and cost us a lot.

The theory is that punishment will deter others if it is severe enough, but that's clearly a fallacy, witness the posts here from guys who brag they can tell when they're 'still OK to drive'. That's what she said. No one's luck lasts forever.

One can imagine there was no charge of 'over.08' because, in fact she wasn't. She now knows what it's like to ask herself, "If I had just had a Coke, would that kid maybe be alive?"

But even if she gets 14 years, I don't believe those Boasting Bozos will get it. The question isn't "Can I drive?", it's "Can I face some dead kid's mother and tell her I'd had one or two?"

I don't think any imprisonment will be required for prevention in her case, nor do I believe it's a suitable punishment. She's forever in debt to the family and should start working off that debt immediately, even if it's just financially. Strap her with 1 year in jail and 10 years of community service as her criminal penalty and let the civil courts handle the rest. Oh, and take away her driver's licence if not forever, than for a very long time.

The whole thing about others restraining themselves because the harshness of the penalty doesn't really work. Unfortunately too many people have to experience things first-hand to learn from them.