Consequences:
Last night I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine about a mutual acquaintance. The woman we were speaking of is a good friend of my friend, but for myself, she owned and operated a salon I use to frequent a few years back. Very nice young lady, has a toddler that she brought to work with her from the time he was born, kind of woman everyone likes.
I found out last night that this woman, a year ago, hit and killed a motorcyclist on a dirt road. She had pulled up to a stop sign, looked both ways, didn't see anything, and went. The motorcyclist slammed into her car killing him instantly. She has been going through court proceedings since then and has now finally received her final sentencing. Thirty days in jail, with work release; 18 months of probation; six months with an ankle bracelet; and 300 hours of community service. Additionally, the family of the victim is suing her on a civil level. This family is very upset with the sentencing, they felt she should have received more time in jail.
I went round and round with my friend last night about this, she kept defending her friend and I kept telling her, "but she killed someone because of her careless driving, there has to be a consequence for it". My friend couldn't believe the hatred the family of the victim had for her friend, she said "I kept trying to tell them that she's a good person, but they wouldn't listen, I don't understand how they can feel this way about her, it was just an accident". My reply "she killed their 22 year-old son, how would you feel about the person that killed your child because of their carelessness?" This went on for about 30 minutes. Perhaps I'm jaded because of what happened to my nephew, but that was a different case, he was killed by a drunk driver. And realistically what happened to the mutual friend could have happened to anyone of us. Motorcyclist are VERY hard to see and there have been many times that I didn't know a motorcyclist was there.
I hate to see this woman be away from her child, but it really is about the choices we make. So many do not realize the dangers that exist when one is behind the wheel. I have known so very many people killed in car accidents that I am uneasy in a vehicle. Motorcyclist especially need to be extra cautious. I never want any of my loved ones on a street bike. My husband and No. 1 ride motocross, but that is an entirely different situation. Any time anyone of us sits behind the wheel, could be the time that our lives and the lives of others could be changed forever. Scary stuff.
**Just Because You Have The Right To Do Something Does Not Mean That It's The Right Thing To Do**
Posted by Stacy at May 18, 2005 10:54 AM | TrackBack