Comments on: Chandler area motorist on his way to buy a Hummer kills five people, gets one year in jail

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:18:31 +0000

Hat tip Scott – that’s funny.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:49:23 +0000

When I read the headline I thought that he maybe hit someone while cruising Van Buren.

By: Roger

Roger — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:18:38 +0000

I don’t want to lose sight of the awful crime committed by Mr. Myers and the obvious anguish suffered by the family and friends of the victims. I am a little puzzled by the headline however and I wonder why the mention of the Hummer is made. I sense this is meant to be a broader indictment of a line of vehicles and a stereotyping of the type of person that buys & drives them. Am I correct? Had the driver been on his way to buy a gallon of milk, would it have mattered?

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:02:05 +0000

Bob, I think a lot of the problem here is the judge — and the root of that is probably the failure of the prosecutors to make a strong case. It really irks me that this guy got off so lightly. He could have received a much stronger sentence even under the charges that were filed.

Imagine if he had randomly fired a gun in his neighborhood, not intending to hit anyone, and killed five people and put a young girl in a wheelchair for life. How is that so different from what he actually did?

The only thing that makes it different is the car. That’s why this is carhead. We don’t punish people the same for transgressions committed in the holy car.

–EBR

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:45:56 +0000

Bob –
yes, i would say that in this particular case (but this one is quite unusual!) you are wrong. That is, the guy plead guilty to Neg Hom; so he is admitting “criminal negligence”.
There is a chart here of the 4 types of homicide in Arizona, scroll down a bit to the table:
http://azbikelaw.org/carlaw/homicide.html

The vast majority of non-DUI-related fatalities result in no (homicide) charges. Though this one is a bit of mystery… compare this to the case of the Irma Quintana Fatality. In that case the driver that killed both ran a red, and was speeding 13 over — why no neg hom charge??
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/28-672-in-the-news/

they seem like pretty similar transgressions, 5 murders in one case, and no murders in the other. All according to the same prosecutor’s office (Maricopa County Attorney)

By: bikinginla

bikinginla — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:52:34 +0000

Coghauler is right. We need to take action at the legislative level, as well as pressuring city governments — something we’re just starting to do here in L.A. According to Bikes Belong, somewhere between 12.4% and 38.2 percent of all Americans ride bikes (http://www.bikesbelong.org/participationstats). Even taking the lower figure, that’s a huge voting block.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:21:59 +0000

Am I wrong in suspecting that the issue here lies not with the prosecutors but with the law?

In NYC, prosecutors’ hands are often tied in cases where sober drivers kill because the standard for criminal negligence with a vehicle is so high. There’s an exception for alcohol and other substances due to the drunk-driving crusades of past decades, which sadly creates a double standard where sober drivers are far harder to prosecute than drunk ones.

By: Coghauler

Coghauler — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:45:34 +0000

Erik can confirm or correct this, but I
believe most vehicular violations are
classified as misdemeanors. None of us
seem to understand why a death does not
kick it up to a felony. I think the only
way to make a change in this is at the
legislative level and I’m sure there would
be some powerful lobbies against making any
such changes. It’s car-headedness to the max!
And fear of being made to be responsible when
when behind the wheel.
The cumulatve effect of automotive marketing ie,
freedom of the road-carefree motoring, etc.
for years and years has imbedded itself in
our DNA and is showing up in some really nasty ways.

By: Mickey

Mickey — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:25:13 +0000

If he had bought that hummer, he’d have killed 8 instead of just five

By: bikinginla

bikinginla — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:07:45 +0000

Unbelievable. Shouldn’t there be some point at which recklessly negligent driving that results in death — let alone multiple deaths — is treated as homicide?