Update on injured El Tour rider, Gary Stuebe
This depressing news from Eric Post, another attorney in town who handles bicycling cases:
Would you please consider forwarding this to the bicycle community?
I spoke recently with Steve Leshner, the attorney for the Stuebe family and the family is not happy with how things are being handled. Steve wanted the community to know a bit about what is going on. Gary is badly injured. He had a left occipital fracture, a diffuse axonal nerve injury with a 3 mm displacement of his brain from the impact (this is usually associated with vegetative state but fortunately Gary has not succumbed to that). The frontal lobe was shaved twice and then a right temporal lobectomy performed to remove a bruised portion followed by a right frontal lobectomy. Apparently he can talk for about 10 minutes on the phone but that’s about it. He cannot ride a bike or a trainer at this time and probably will never work again. His bills are in excess of $1.275 million.
Apparently the prosecutor’s office is considering a plea offer of “attempted” hit and run with “minor injuries.” This would be a class 6 felony reducible to a misdemeanor.
More on Gary Stuebe here.
–Erik Ryberg
May 6th, 2009 at 11:15 am
This makes me so angry I can’t even express.
May 6th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
It wasn’t ‘attempted’…he did it!
They aren’t minor….they’re the most major.
Are these prosecutors hired to lie?
Did they receive their training next to our
current flock of investment bankers?
Erik, who, what or where is the most effective
voice to express ‘NO’ on this?
May 6th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Based on media reports, it seems the younger ones in William Wilson’s family weren’t sufficiently involved in his life to take the car away from him–for the sake of the safety of others, for their own (financial??) sake. If there was a bet, the bet turned out to be a losing one for all concerned.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
This accident and Gary’s injuries are truly a tragedy. And the financial impact has to be of great concern to his family, but no one has referenced the driver’s insurance and other assets potentially recoverable in a civil suit where the burden of proof and requisite intent are far different. Basic human error is not criminal – no matter how devastating the consequences. Gary’s injuries can’t change the lack of evidence of criminal intent. Give the prosecutors a break, people. The situation is not as simple as you all would make it out to be. And is there some great satisfaction or societal benefit derived from jailing an elderly and confused man? Are there none of you faced with the difficulty of trying to prevent an elderly or substance-abusing loved one from driving? Can you for one moment put yourself in the place of his family and ask yourselves what good a criminal trial and sentence would do? We the taxpayers will bear the expense, it won’t change Gary’s situation one wit, but it may exhaust assets the driver would otherwise have available to satisfy a civil action. Some deeper, wider-ranging thought is in order here – not an angry mob. And how much of the anger is really about the understandable fear on the part of any cyclist who has been made so very aware of how vulnerable we are every time we’re out there!
May 7th, 2009 at 6:36 am
You have some good points, Cathy. I think the sheer magnitude of the situation stirs emotions of the same magnitude. Unbelievably tragic.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
To save taxpayer money, simply sieze assets of the old man and then turn him over to his family to care for. Or maybe food for some farm animals, or fuel, whatever is easier, and there is satisfaction in revenge..you know this Cathy.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Cathi — You say a number of disturbing thing regarding intent. It is not only possible, but quite common to convict persons of crimes without needing to show criminal intent. The most common example is simple DUI; it is a misdemeanor (that’s a crime). Any driver driving under the influence is guilty of a crime. period. To ratchet it up a notch; suppose a driver is driving under the influence and causes a collision resulting in death — bam; guilty of (usually) manslaughter. Defenses such as “i didn’t mean to kill anyone” or “i didn’t know i was drunk” or whatever are non-starters.
Anyway, with the present case — if the defendant did do it (hit; know he hit; and ran) AND is incompetent to stand trial there is a procedure for that. Phoneying up the charges is not appropriate. In any event, a *judge* can and should take into account special circumstances.
Laws and criminal punishment are there to not just punish the guilty but to deter others from criminal behavior.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I think Ed’s points are the most salient here – because the issue of “putting a 91 year old in prison” is a COMPLETE red herring. It has no relevance whatsoever to the crime, the statutes violated, and the punishment. I would challenge anyone to point out where, in the criminal statutes, they read: “unless the court determines you to be too old.”
Most importantly, this is ALL ABOUT awareness. Awareness on the part of the 91 year old that they have striking limitations. If the 91 year old is unable or unwilling to “be aware” of their limitations, then there are others who are responsible for them. Be it heirs of the estate (to give children a stake in safety) the state (the state has an interest in not paying $1.2 million in medical bills), and insurance companies (which are stung by both medical and legal bills in cases like this).
This degree of error cannot be responded to with an “oops, my bad!” Assets should be confiscated to pay for medical bills. Prison time should be served as a deterrent to others.
THAT would raise awareness. The public outcry of non-cyclists might be vocal…but they would then be more aware as to the degree which their cars can be weapons – and how they can be held responsible for their actions. They might feel that it is unfair to them….but as the law is upheld, as loopholes are closed…they might actually see them as laws they can’t “wiggle out of.”
And to those who are concerned that this outcry would make cycling less safe because of malicious acts by drivers…well, this is a circular argument. If the punishment has teeth, and there is no wiggle room, they will, eventually, be caught, prosecuted, and put in prison.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
[...] happier news, tusconbikelawyer , via Eric Post, is reporting that Gary’s condition is [...]
May 7th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I think the target of the anger is
not the 91-year-old man or the 46-
year-old drunk woman or the inattentive
texting teen but rather the inability
for appropriate charges to be made.
Let the judge sort out the other factors.
These on-going situations leave cyclists
with the feeling that their right to do
what they do is not being upheld. If
enforcement does not uphold our right,
the public view will be skewed to our
not having the right. That’s the danger
and it’s upsetting.
And it’s fustrating, too, when city and
county governments sponsor a bike-to-
everywhere month and yet if anything
happens to you out there, it’ your fault.
How is that really advocating for alternative
transportation?
BIKES ARE CARS, TOO!
just with different needs
May 12th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
This whole thing makes me feel so sad. While Mr. Wilson should be punished for what he did, nothing is going to bring Gary back to the level of function that he used to have. I feel so badly for the family….just imagine what they have gone through.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Don’t know if you guys saw it but last night KOLD ran 3 separate segments on their newscast featuring an interview with Gary Stuebe and his wife. She did all of the talking as they said he isn’t ready for public speaking just yet, but it is clear that he has some very significant barriers to overcome through his rehabilitation. Here’s a link for those who are interested:
http://www.kold.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15088&topVideoCatNoB=158866&topVideoCatNoC=158876&topVideoCatNoD=158882&topVideoCatNoE=138849&clipId=3778300&topVideoCatNo=15088&autoStart=true
May 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
peter, thank you for linking to that video. really hard to watch.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:55 am
It’s heartbreaking really. I’ve taken a personal interest in this story as I was one of the first riders in El Tour who came upon the scene of the accident probably less than a minute after it happened. I will never forget the image of Gary lying there, face down and motionless. He’s my age, also married with 2 kids, and it just hit home with me how easily something like that can happen to any of us. I’m dropping out of El Tour after riding in it for 11 years until the PBAA comes up with a better way to make the ride more safe….either limit the ridership, close lanes to car traffic, or change the route. Something needs to be done because every year the ride is getting more and more dangerous. I took the money that would have gone to PBAA for El Tour and donated it to Gary’s fund and hopefully others will do the same.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
[...] in his state. The 91 year-old hit-and-run driver who injured 10 Arizona cyclists, leaving one with severe brain damage, gets three years probation — and sues the county for damages the next day. Opus analyzes the [...]