What a douchbag

[techtwelve]

http://www.denverpost.com/watercooler/ci_8077411


"This is a video report - in spanish, couldn't find anything with english subs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4KP3BM0S60

The first guy speaking is Tomas Delgado followed by images of the 17 yr old and later... words from the kid's father (his shock when he approached the crowd, trying to make sense of what happened) and mother (at the very end of the clip).

Delgado (at the beginning of the clip) says "Thank God, nothing happened to me" (seriously! What a fuckin' prick!) The host of the show follows that remark by saying that the true tragedy is what happened to the kid and then segues into the father's clip.

According to the clip... The guy was doing 113 km/hr (70mph) on a 90km/hr (55mph) zone, was legally drunk and had the ABS (Anti-lock braking system) disabled."

 

[Deme]

What's this world coming to???

OMG... I can't believe there are people out there who have more concern for the damage to their car.. then for a person's life. R u kidding me???
Just a reminder... drinking, driving and speed kills...
I TOTALLY agree... this guy is unreal!!!!!!!!

 

[Moraff]

Morally I agree that this guy shouldn't be suing for damages to his car. Legally however both parties were found to be at fault so I guess he has the right to do it.


And while I'm sorry that the young man got killed, a portion of the responsibility for that is his: He was riding after sunset without lights and reflectors when he came out in front of the driver from a side street.

 

[Thousand]

And while I'm sorry that the young man got killed, a portion of the responsibility for that is his: He was riding after sunset without lights and reflectors when he came out in front of the driver from a side street.

Moraff, I think you should take the situation under context here. The young man is just 17 year old. It is understandable that most teenager commit some form of minor cycling-related offense like this. As well, what causes this fatality is the driver going at 100km in the 55km road. Had the driver complied with the law, he would have enough time to see the kid riding his bicycle and would be able to react in time to minimize injuries.

It is very sickening to see the driver had such little respect for life.


Thousand

 

[cypherpunk]

I'll see your douchbag and I'll raise you a horrible xxxx:

Cruikshank said he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and an unknown male friend, a week after L'Ecuyer was killed, to be "breathtaking in its inhumanity."

During the conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had "taken out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."

Arrington laughed. When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing to say, she responded, "No, it's not."

...

L'Ecuyer, 45, was riding his bike the night of Dec. 1, 2006 when Arrington swerved off the road, hit him and then continued for 800 feet before stopping, according to Deputy Pima County Attorney Jonathan Mosher.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-jail-laughter,1,6951934.story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y543SNCX5YQ

 

[Moraff]

Moraff, I think you should take the situation under context here. The young man is just 17 year old. It is understandable that most teenager commit some form of minor cycling-related offense like this. As well, what causes this fatality is the driver going at 100km in the 55km road. Had the driver complied with the law, he would have enough time to see the kid riding his bicycle and would be able to react in time to minimize injuries.

It is very sickening to see the driver had such little respect for life.


Thousand

I'm not saying that the driver's actions weren't a large part of the situation, just saying that he wasn't 100% of the problem is all.

Yes if the driver had complied with the law he MIGHT have had time to see the kid riding the bicycle in time to avoid him (they can be pretty hard to see w/o lights, reflectors and light-coloured clothes). However the reverse holds true too; if the kid had complied with the law and not ridden out in front of him on a bike with no lights or reflectors the guy wouldn't have hit him either.

Okay, he's 17 and yes young people make mistakes. So if the positions were reversed with the 17 year-old had being the driver and the adult the cyclist would you be excusing him then?

Having had several close calls with cyclists disobeying the rules of the road I find the thought that "It is understandable that most teenager commit some form of minor cycling-related offense like this" to be pretty scary.

I do agree with you that the driver seems to be as lacking in compassion as he is in brains.

 

[Thousand]

Okay, he's 17 and yes young people make mistakes. So if the positions were reversed with the 17 year-old had being the driver and the adult the cyclist would you be excusing him then?

That would be in a different context, given that an adult has a different state of mind and maturity.

Having had several close calls with cyclists disobeying the rules of the road I find the thought that "It is understandable that most teenager commit some form of minor cycling-related offense like this" to be pretty scary.

It is of best interest to the cyclists themselves to comply with all applicable laws when riding their bikes on the road. However, it is very common for kids to be riding their bikes with minimal protection since they have been living in a world where they are well protected throughout their lives. We, the adult, in a way, have the responsibility to protect them while they learn to protect themselves.

The law was made to protect the society. The way I see it in this situation is that the driver's offense, which was speeding, did the most harm, and yet suffered the least.

BTW: It makes me wonder if the driver realize that the kid already paid the ultimate price for his minor offense.

Thousand

 

[Moraff]

That would be in a different context, given that an adult has a different state of mind and maturity.

I think I must have miscommunicated, I meant that if the driver of the car had been the 17 year-old, would we excuse his breaking the law as being expected of a kid?

BTW: It makes me wonder if the driver realize that the kid already paid the ultimate price for his minor offense.Thousand

Probably not, he seems astoundingly self-centered.

 

[Thousand]

I think I must have miscommunicated, I meant that if the driver of the car had been the 17 year-old, would we excuse his breaking the law as being expected of a kid?

Definitely not, but that is under a different context as I have mentioned. The nature of the offense is much more serious in this scenario.

Thousand