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Old 02-23-2011, 07:06 AM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,703,514 times
Reputation: 2882

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Musician hit by truck at North Austin market remembered for his advice

The driver lost control of his vehicle and then hit and killed someone who was on the sidewalk.

And here is another driver who struck someone on a sidewalk, this time a runner, and no charges were filed.

Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business | Statesman.com (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/09/27/0927jogger.html?imw=Y - broken link)

As far as I know vehicle must yield to pedestrians when crossing a sidewalk:

"(c) The operator of a vehicle emerging from or entering an
alley, building, or private road or driveway shall yield the
right-of-way to a pedestrian approaching on a sidewalk extending"
across the alley, building entrance or exit, road, or driveway.

I for one am sick and tired of law enforcement claiming that these were just unfortunate accident. That is entirely wrong b/c both could have been avoided. The former if the driver braked when he should have and the latter if the driver did not storm out of the parking garage without looking both ways. This is a travesty of justice. Do we feel such sympathy for the drivers b/c we feel it could happen to us?
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Old 02-23-2011, 12:42 PM
 
Location: downtown Austin, TX
20 posts, read 37,744 times
Reputation: 13
I completely agree. Pedestrians should be better-protected in Austin, both by drivers and police. I have been nearly hit many times walking around in the downtown area, especially while crossing 15th St. or walking in front of the BookPeople shopping center.
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Old 02-23-2011, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,242 posts, read 35,464,389 times
Reputation: 8587
Not much info in the first story. They say no charges have been filed, but that does not mean charges won't be filed some time in the near future. That is fairly common as the perform an initial investigation, i.e. to see if the driver was intoxicated or whatever. For all we know, the driver had a heart attack.

Second article has just about as little info as the first one, but does not talk about charges (filed or not). It was two years ago, so I suppose it is possible to find out.

Edit: It was a little hard to find out much, an others seemed to think so, too. Found this on a blog:
Quote:
In response to SJ’s comment about a “news blackout” on the September 2009 death of Brianna Becker while jogging … We remember the case and did follow up with authorities at the time. They opted not to file any charges against the driver, ruling the case an accident. We checked into the driver’s background ourselves and found nothing newsworthy or suspicious. That’s why you saw no coverage of that case after the initial reports. If you have information to the contrary, please email me: jbridges@statesman.com.

Last edited by Trainwreck20; 02-23-2011 at 01:24 PM..
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Old 02-23-2011, 01:31 PM
 
7,993 posts, read 10,344,991 times
Reputation: 15006
So you think every fatal accident should be a case of vehicular manslaughter? Should every driver involved in every non-fatal car accident be charged with attempted manslaughter or assault? They are tragic, no doubt. But they are accidents.
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Old 02-23-2011, 03:15 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,703,514 times
Reputation: 2882
Quote:
Originally Posted by mm57553 View Post
So you think every fatal accident should be a case of vehicular manslaughter? Should every driver involved in every non-fatal car accident be charged with attempted manslaughter or assault? They are tragic, no doubt. But they are accidents.
I was pointing at two very specific incidents but even if I wasn't I think that if a traffic law was broken and it results in a death there should, in most cases, be a vehicular manslaughter charge unless there were other contributing factors. If a driver is drunk or not paying attention and, e.g. hits a pedestrian in the crosswalk, then they should be cited using the existing state of Texas traffic laws. And if there is negligence involved it is not a mere "accident" but rather an avoidable outcome that someone, and probably not the victim, should be held accountable.

Now please tell me what Felipe Duran should have been doing to have prevented this? By not using the storefront sidewalk? Do we blame the victim and always excuse the motorist because "it could happen to any one of us?"
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Old 02-23-2011, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,223,163 times
Reputation: 24738
Quote:
Originally Posted by verybadgnome View Post
I was pointing at two very specific incidents but even if I wasn't I think that if a traffic law was broken and it results in a death there should, in most cases, be a vehicular manslaughter charge unless there were other contributing factors. If a driver is drunk or not paying attention and, e.g. hits a pedestrian in the crosswalk, then they should be cited using the existing state of Texas traffic laws. And if there is negligence involved it is not a mere "accident" but rather an avoidable outcome that someone, and probably not the victim, should be held accountable.

Now please tell me what Felipe Duran should have been doing to have prevented this? By not using the storefront sidewalk? Do we blame the victim and always excuse the motorist because "it could happen to any one of us?"
Why do we always need to blame someone?

Way back when I was a personal injury legal assistant, we used to get about 300 calls a month from people thinking they had a case. We'd investigate, and we took about 5 cases a month. The rest, we declined, and explained why. In most cases, it was a matter of, nothing could have been done to prevent what happened.

Most folks were relieved to hear this, believe it or not, because what we had just told them was, "There was nothing YOU could have done to change the outcome".

Sometimes, things just happen. There truly are accidents, and the rush to find blame tries to deny that, perhaps in the misguided belief that if blame can always be attached (which is not to deny that it can, definitely, often be someone's "fault"), that somehow we can prevent all harm.

It's just not true. We can't. And sometimes, an accident is simply an accident.
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:03 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,703,514 times
Reputation: 2882
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Why do we always need to blame someone?

Way back when I was a personal injury legal assistant, we used to get about 300 calls a month from people thinking they had a case. We'd investigate, and we took about 5 cases a month. The rest, we declined, and explained why. In most cases, it was a matter of, nothing could have been done to prevent what happened.

Most folks were relieved to hear this, believe it or not, because what we had just told them was, "There was nothing YOU could have done to change the outcome".

Sometimes, things just happen. There truly are accidents, and the rush to find blame tries to deny that, perhaps in the misguided belief that if blame can always be attached (which is not to deny that it can, definitely, often be someone's "fault"), that somehow we can prevent all harm.

It's just not true. We can't. And sometimes, an accident is simply an accident.
Of course there are but again I was referring to the article in the paper which none of that pertains. No act of God was involved. The driver did not have a heart attack. There could have been a mechanical problem with the car but we won't know until a report comes out. If it is like most of these stories in which a vehicle plows into a store it will be a matter of the driving not maintaining control of the vehicle and/or not paying attention.

Unfortunately a lot of law enforcement comes down to the discretion of the officer involved and their interpretation of events. If they have biases and/or are incompetent they can wrongfully side with one party or another.

And again I will ask what should Felipe Duran have done to prevent this? Should sidewalks have warning signs on them stating "Use at your own risk. Motor Vehicles always have right of way."?

Last edited by verybadgnome; 02-23-2011 at 08:12 PM..
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:05 PM
 
61 posts, read 66,206 times
Reputation: 69
I'm not sure the APD reads City Data.

But if they do!
You shore let 'em have it!
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:35 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,223,163 times
Reputation: 24738
Quote:
Originally Posted by verybadgnome View Post
Of course there are but again I was referring to the article in the paper which none of that pertains. No act of God was involved. The driver did not have a heart attack. There could have been a mechanical problem with the car but we won't know until a report comes out. If it is like most of these stories in which a vehicle plows into a store it will be a matter of the driving not maintaining control of the vehicle and/or not paying attention.

Unfortunately a lot of law enforcement comes down to the discretion of the officer involved and their interpretation of events. If they have biases and/or are incompetent they can wrongfully side with one party or another.

And again I will ask what should Felipe Duran have done to prevent this? Should sidewalks have warning signs on them stating "Use at your own risk. Motor Vehicles always have right of way."?
So, you advocate that the police "shoot first and ask questions later" - in other words, file charges BEFORE they know exactly what caused the accident and THEN figure it out?

I can just see the howls if they actually operated in that fashion, too.

Instead, what they're no doubt doing is a thorough investigation so that (a) they will know BEFORE they file charges what those charges should be and whether charges are, indeed, warranted and (b) they won't have jumped the gun so that if charges are warranted, they'll be more likely to stick because the investigating officers didn't rush to judgment and fail to dot every i and cross every t, thus allowing an out for the accused.

Or, they could do what you advocate and immediately cry "j'accuse!" at the drop of a hat with no evidence at all, based entirely on assumptions.

Me, I think it's a terrible happening that requires more respect and investigation than that, for everyone involved including the gentleman who was hit by the car.
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:51 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,703,514 times
Reputation: 2882
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
So, you advocate that the police "shoot first and ask questions later" - in other words, file charges BEFORE they know exactly what caused the accident and THEN figure it out?

I can just see the howls if they actually operated in that fashion, too.

Instead, what they're no doubt doing is a thorough investigation so that (a) they will know BEFORE they file charges what those charges should be and whether charges are, indeed, warranted and (b) they won't have jumped the gun so that if charges are warranted, they'll be more likely to stick because the investigating officers didn't rush to judgment and fail to dot every i and cross every t, thus allowing an out for the accused.

Or, they could do what you advocate and immediately cry "j'accuse!" at the drop of a hat with no evidence at all, based entirely on assumptions.

Me, I think it's a terrible happening that requires more respect and investigation than that, for everyone involved including the gentleman who was hit by the car.
Charges can always be dropped before trial if there is no basis for a case against the defendant. No need to spend time in jail if the defendant posts bond. I will admit you are right if there are extenuating circumstances but it has been over 2 days already and not a peep from APD on what is on the surface a pretty straightforward incident. A lot of the "evidence" is in fact self-evident meaning it should not take long to come to a preliminary conclusion. I feel my cynicism is justified b/c non-drunk drivers who do stupid things tend to either not get charged or get a slap in the wrist in this town. There have been drivers who have successfully plea bargained a manslaughter charge down to a misdemeanor with a three digit fine; a real slap in the face to the family of the deceased.
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