Travesty of Justice

[AZhitman]

It's not just youthful drivers who "get away with murder":

The Arizona RepublicNov. 9, 2002

PHOENIX - Police have decided not to recommend a manslaughter charge for the elderly hit-and-run driver who killed a 15-year-old boy on a bike.

Investigators recommended that Lila Swanson, 72, be charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and turned over their completed investigation Friday to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

The county will review the report and decide what charges, if any, will be filed in connection with the Oct. 11 wreck that killed Daniel Robeson, who would have turned 16 today. A decision could take weeks because cases involving suspects in custody are given priority, said Maricopa County Attorney spokesman Bill FitzGerald.

Robeson's family is glad police are seeking the felony charge, said his mother, Guadalupe Robeson, shortly after creating a roadside memorial where Daniel was killed. She is still struggling to make sense of the accident.

"We can't understand it; maybe she's out of her mind," she said of Swanson. "There's many other kids and people out there, and she could do the same thing again."

Detective Gary Lipko said police did not recommend a manslaughter charge because Swanson was not speeding or impaired when she hit the boys on Lower Buckeye Road near 59th Avenue.

"Should she have seen them? We think she should have. Was she reckless? No," Lipko said. "She knew she was involved in some sort of collision, and the law clearly states you have to stop when you're in a collision."

When Swanson hit them, Robeson was standing on pegs attached to the back of a bicycle powered by his friend, Allen Enriquez, 14. Police believe Robeson's head hit the windshield, partially shattering it and killing him instantly. Enriquez suffered minor injuries.

Police say Swanson, who was found at a casino hours after the crash, knew she hit something and failed to stop.

The valet workers at Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino noticed severe damage to her 1996 Buick Park Avenue and asked her if she wanted to call police. She declined, Lipko said.

An off-duty Pinal County Sheriff's deputy saw the car, which had a damaged windshield, hood and front light. "Biological evidence" was found on the partially shattered windshield.

Steve Suskin, Swanson's attorney, said she thought debris flew up from the road and hit her windshield or that something was thrown at her car.

"She was truly devastated when police told her what she had hit on the road that night," he said. "She remains shaken and in her own sense of shock about it since."

[PalmerWMD]

They said she wasn't impaired, but she was obviosly impaired in some way or another or she wouldnt have missed a boy flying against her windshield.

After a certain age there should be a yearly relicenising test, conducted by an out-of county tester.Why out of county? So the old boys/gals network that u have in some communities, doesnt pencil wip anything, for someone they know and like.

Fred...

[AZhitman]

Agreed.

The 88-year-old man who hit me on my motorcycle (and kept going - "I hit something?") back in 1992 lost his license ON THE SPOT as a result. Took me a week in the hospital to recover, but there was one less oblivious driver on the streets of Phoenix.

[DenverQ]

I bet her insurance is still cheaper then mine even though she killed someone.

Gotta love how that works

[Stoneage_Turbo]

yah ususaly when someone throws something at your car it doesnt make a noise and smash your windshield , and even when that happens , common sense says stop the damn car and kick whoevers arse did it , and where is the 14 year old ? he should know what went on , perhaps a last second swerve/squeel of tires to prove the blind woman did see them ...

its just awful ...

[sultan]

there was a story in dallas a while ago where some lady hit a guy, and he got his head stuck in the window, but was still alive. she put the car in the garage and left him there, and eventually he died, and later someone called the police, i don't remember if it was her. guy would have lived if she had called police within first 2 or 3 days and gotten him out. i don't remember what happened to her.

[PalmerWMD]

All this just goes to show that there are tons of people on the road who obviosuly can't see or even hear well enough to be on the road.

But since our lawmakers are old as well, nothing really gets done about this.

Fred...:rolleyes

[sultan]

by the way, police found out the man was conscious for quite a while and kept pleading for help, but the woman was too scared or something.

[skydragoness]

I can't fu*ckin' BELIEVE that a person would not KNOW that they hit a person. 72, yrs is not THAT old!! My grandmother is in her early 80's and though she can't park well (because she drives a tank) she has excellent perception and reflexes for her age. In fact, in her Oldsmobile a while ago she was driving towards an intersection with a red light, when she went to brake, they failed (go GM technology!), and she had no way to stop ( i would've throw it in 2nd or 1st but that's me) instead of hitting all the people sitting at the light in front of her she did an evasive maneuver by trying to squeeze in between the rows of cars,which worked for the first two rows until she came to the front of the line and was stopped by the friction of her car rubbing between the two cars up front. Minimal damage was inflicted to those two cars (i.e. doors scraped) but hers was totaled)

Anyhow, it is so blatantly obvious that the old woman knew what she did, didn't want to be responsible, and fled off to the casino since she knew she was screwed anyway...

[ninjak84]

Yeah, I'm kind of with Fred here....How the heck do you miss a grown boy flying across your windshield?What a load of crap... something needs to be done about senior drivers. They have a minimum age, why not a maximum?

[johnsharpe]

There's not much that can be said about this that hasn't already been...I feel for the boy's family and hope that there is justice served.

John

[miteymax86]

Allow me to throw in some righteous indignation here; HOW IN GOD'S NAME DO YOU MISS SOMETHING CRASHING INTO YOUR WINDSHIELD????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since "she was obviously not speeding or impaired" shouldn't the punishment be more severe since she obviously in some way knows traffic law(enough to have a license at least) and hit the kid? I mean, c'mon, what the hell!!!! How, when you're not impaired or speeding do you just run someone over?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That pisses me off! And, let me pile on the insurance companies too, since her insurance is gonna be less than mine, still!!! And I have a clean record!!!(knock wood):mad: :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

[MaineExport]

And you just KNOW that if it was a younger adult or teenager driving they would throw the book at them! If one of us ran through a bike and didn't stop, they'd surely use us to set an example.

Well, what a fine precedent they have set here. If you're old enough to not realize you hit somebody, it's alright. And by all means, let's not change our policy and let's keep allowing elderly drivers to get away with this s***.

A life cut short at 15 is a tragedy in ANY case, but especially when it is under preventable circumstances of such blatant ignorance.

[skydragoness]

*high fives Maine AGAIN* :Werd

[theTony]

I am all for there being after a certian age, an annual assessmant or exam that all drivers must take before, lets say, thier registration and/or insurance renewal is done.

[Repo Man]

It's not just the older drivers. This morning, on her way to work, my wife was run off the road by some as.sbag in a damn Dodge Ram truck. There was no collision, but had she not gone off the road there would have been. She ran into the cornfield and the driver of the truck stopped for a moment and then sped off. Unfortunately, my wife was unable to get his license plate so that I could run it. That bastard is damn lucky I wasn't driving. I'll leave that right there.

People don't look, they don't pay attention, they don't understand the dynamics of their car with relation to the road, they don't understand that almost every accident can be avoided by having time and distance. They don't care. People like this piss me off like none other.

This is why I like being able to pull away from traffic. Really makes me want a Q.

BTW, Cold_Zero got his new WRX yesterday...

[Spectre]

Anyone ever get stuck behind an old fart taking up both lanes weaving in between them? Or how about the old lady that idled into my Saturn last year? Or the old guy that backed into my 240, while I was holding the horn down?

I think my worst story with an ***hole driver when I suddenly realized I had to merge and when I tried to switch over, all I got was a honk with no budge for the SUVs(plural) next to me. If I didn't hit the brakes when I did, my car would have smashed into a light pole. I came damn close and even ran up on the curb. I was about 2 ft. away from the pole.

Moral of the story, some people are ***holes. I think that old lady knew what she did and she's trying to BS her way out of it.

[MaineExport]

Spectre... your avatar is the COOLEST one I've ever seen. The Wall ROCKS!!!! Where did you find it.... are there any others available?