Robert Novak - Hit and Run (legal, lawyers, school, state)

[goldengrain]

Robert Novak and his hit and run accident:

a heroic witness, Bono, as sited in a politico.com article:

Novak cited after hitting pedestrian - Jonathan Martin and Chris Frates - Politico.com

As he traveled east on K Street, crossing 18th, Bono said "a black Corvette convertible with top closed plows into the guy. The guy is sort of splayed into the windshield.”

Bono said that the pedestrian, who was crossing the street on a "Walk" signal and was in the crosswalk, rolled off the windshield and that Novak then made a right into the service lane of K Street. “This car is speeding away. What’s going through my mind is, you just can’t hit a pedestrian and drive away,” Bono said.

He said he chased Novak half a block down K Street, finally caught up with him and then put his bike in front of the car to block it and called 911.

Bono said that throughout, Novak "keeps trying to get away. He keeps trying to go.”

Finally, Bono said, Novak put his head out the window of his car and motioned him over. Bono said he told him that you can't hit a pedestrian and just drive away. He quoted Novak as responding: “I didn’t see him there.”

(if Novak did not see him, would he not have said 'Who? What are you talking about?")

Novak, 77, has earned a reputation around the capital as an aggressive driver . . .
The Washington Post’s Reliable Source column reported that Novak had gone to a racing school in Florida. "I've wanted to be a racecar driver all my life, and anyone who has watched me drive can tell you that,” Novak said.


Please, I would really like for someone to tell me that they have heard one of his doctors speak of how serious (fast growing?) his brain tumor is.

When was it diagnosed? Recently, or years ago?

I don't want to see Novak telling reporters that his condition is 'dire', I want some professional whose reputation is at stake to say such things, and tell us just how 'dire' he is and if he is expected to be 'undire' enough to stand trial for this little episode.

I am sorry to be so mean spirited if the man really has less than a year to live,
but I remember Janet Reno and whenever she did something horrid she would get in front of the cameras and tell us how she is a dying woman. (Well, truely, aren't we all dying a bit each day?) She did that three or four times, to my recollection. Since then she ran for office in Florida and she is still with us.
Ms Reno never had a doctor with her, ready to answer questions as to how 'dire' her condition actually was, either.

So I would like to put my suspicions to rest by hearing a respected member of the medical profession explain just how serious Mr. Novak's condition is.

If someone out there has heard such a thing, please tell me. I never believed Ms.Reno and that makes me very suspicious of Mr.Novak.

[TonyT]

What exactly is Bob Novak supposed to, as you put it, "stand trial" for? He received a $50 fine for failing to yield the right of way and that's it. From what I have read to date, it doesn't appear that the police considered charging him with anything else at the time of the accident or were contemplating any future charges.

As to when he was diagnosed, it was approximately a week after the incident, July 27th to be exact. According to press reports, he became ill during a family outing on Cape Cod, it was serious enough for 911 to be called, and when being examined in the hospital the tumor was discovered. A biopsy was to be performed on July 28th to see if the tumor was benign or malignant. Of course, as a private citizen, Novak is under no obligation to release the results of the biopsy unless he so chooses.

And to be clear, I haven't read anywhere that Mr. Novak is using the fact that he has a brain tumor as an excuse for the accident that he was involved in. There has been speculation in the press and back-up from medical professionals that it may have been a factor, but no one has definitively linked the two together.

So, unless Mr. Novak grants his doctors permission to share his exact medical condition and prognosis for recovery, I guess your suspicions will be neither confirmed or denied anytime soon.

[goldengrain]

Yes, I see what you are saying.

Any normal citizen would, after hitting this guy, who was splayed on the windshield and slid off, would speed away, he would probably need time to get the ducks in order and try to have the whole thing squashed, like any normal citizen would do.

So, also like any normal citizen, he would wonder how to delay legal action until this was possible - Oh, I know, that old tumor, or any malady that sounded bad.

So he would check himself into the hospital and tell his doctors to talk to no one and have his lawyers and contacts running interference for him in the legal system,
probably through his many political contacts, seeing that he has friends in high places.

Yeah, its just like nothing happened. No connection to be found. If he did not see the guy who he hit, maybe the guy doesn't even exist. In spite of all the witnesses the thing can be made to appear to have never happened. No legal record just washes away reality, does it?

[NewToCA]

Brain tumors are nothing to trivialize, I would assume this impacted his judgment.

[roberta]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Brain tumors are nothing to trivialize, I would assume this impacted his judgment.

I think his brain tumor probably was partly responsible for this accident. One of my close family members recently died of an invasive brain tumor. It happened very suddenly. The symptoms were mainly that she was tired, and acting very forgetful--unusial for her. She was only 50. Then she woke up one morning with a terrible headache, so bad that her husband took her to emergency hospital. She died that night. They never knew she had the tumor until then. Brain tumors can impair your senses. I think R Novak was having some symptoms that made him oblivious to what had happened, otherwise, I don't see why a man in his position would "hit and run." I hope he recovers, and makes it right for the poor victim, and family.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Brain tumors are nothing to trivialize, I would assume this impacted his judgment.

Of course. My thought it that it may have been impacting his judgement for a long time.
After hitting the guy who was, according to witnesses, 'splattered' onto his windshield, he turned the corner, so his sight miraculously came back enough to do that.
When the witness said 'you can't do that' his response was not 'What did I do' but ' I did not see him'.

I am sure that Janet Reno's disease is terrible, too, but that did not stop her from using it and claiming it was much worse than it evidently was at the time - to keep her job.

They do have doctors in jail. I am just hoping that this is not a convenient excuse for Novak to evade prosecution.

Brain tumors are serious, and so are 'hit and runs'.
This brain tumor is just appearing very convenient to me.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by roberta

I think his brain tumor probably was partly responsible for this accident. One of my close family members recently died of an invasive brain tumor. It happened very suddenly. The symptoms were mainly that she was tired, and acting very forgetful--unusial for her. She was only 50. Then she woke up one morning with a terrible headache, so bad that her husband took her to emergency hospital. She died that night. They never knew she had the tumor until then. Brain tumors can impair your senses. I think R Novak was having some symptoms that made him oblivious to what had happened, otherwise, I don't see why a man in his position would "hit and run." I hope he recovers, and makes it right for the poor victim, and family.

The article I read said Novak, in his cool black Corvette, was a very aggressive driver. He took car racing classes in Florida. He hated jay walkers and would curse at them through the open window of his car. He made a statement that worse should be done to them.

I, too, have known people who died suddenly of brain tumors. On the other hand there are tumors that are very slow growing. Sometimes they never seem to change in size at all for an entire lifetime. We may all be walking around with undetected lumps in us, but never know it.

I know, if I were in Novak's shoes, with a trial that might be staring me in the face, I would tell my doctors to tell reporters how serious the situation actually is - to prevent any misunderstanding and to elicit sympathy and to prevent charges from being brought against me. This guy, though, does not do that. He makes a public statement that his condition is 'dire'. Well, yeah hitting and running can bring a person to 'dire' circumstances.

All I am saying is that I want a medical doctor to explain his condition and how dire it is. A simple way to avoid confusion - if he is, indeed, a victim of poor health.