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Old 10-29-2009, 10:21 AM
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ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Default Should drivers go to jail when a momentary distraction behind the wheel turns fatal?

Should drivers go to jail when a momentary distraction behind the wheel turns fatal?

Quote:
BY STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer
Oct 24 2009

These aren't the usual suspects.

They are drivers like you or me who -- to their horror -- suddenly find that with an inadvertent traffic mistake they have killed someone.

Should they be charged with a crime?

On the other side are relatives of the victims. What is justice for them? Invariably, the people killed were doing nothing wrong, just driving a car or walking in a cross walk.

Shouldn't someone be held accountable?

The final decision is left to local prosecutors.

They know a case may go to jurors who understand their own moments of inattention behind the wheel.

They also know that if they don't file, they have to sit down with relatives of the victims and explain why.

Even in cases where charges are filed, jurors sometime acquit.

If there is clear negligence, such as driving drunk or texting on a cell phone, misdemeanor or felony charges get filed in a heart beat, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Scott Spielman said.

The tough ones are when there is a question of whether the driver really is at fault, at least in the minds of 12 peers.

A few examples illustrate the problem.

THE NORM HOFFMAN CASE

On March 10, 2001, then 17-year-old Nicholas James Garcia was driving on a narrow stretch of Fairfax Road north of Paladino Drive when he saw a bicyclist ahead of him. The man on the bicycle was 60-year-old Norm Hoffman, a health professor at Bakersfield College and a four-time national cycling champion.

Garcia was rounding a curve when he became distracted by a noise in the car's console. When he looked up he had drifted off the road and Hoffman's bicycle that was 3 and 1/2 feet onto the shoulder. The impact killed Hoffman.

It took more than a month for prosecutors to file charges against Garcia. He pleaded guilty in Juvenile Court and was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours in a work program.

Garcia's mother in a letter to the editor summed up her feelings on the case. "My son has to live the nightmare over and over in his dreams and in his thoughts for the rest of his life," Val Ghilarducci wrote.

"It was a tragic accident that could have happened to just about any one of us who drives an automobile. He who is not guilty of looking the other way for a split second or fixing his mirrors or seeing a pretty girl or answering a phone call on his or her cell phone (can) cast the first stone at my son."

NO CHARGES IN HEAD-ON CRASH

Miltos Leventis, a 24-year-old Air Force contractor with top secret clearance, was on his way April 30 from Palmdale to Ridgecrest to interview for a new job at China Lake Naval Weapons Facility.

In an instant at night on Highway 14 just before his turnoff, Leventis met his death. He was in a Dodge Caliber and a Toyota Tacoma pickup crossed over into his lane, smashing him head on.

No criminal charges were filed against the other driver, 21-year-old Steven David Towell of Reno.

The victim's mother, Angela Leventis, a government analyst and trained criminologist living in New York state, is outraged. "This kid (Towell) was careless," she said. "My son was an innocent victim."

She sent 16 letters of protest to prosecutors, politicians, news editors, and civic and religious leaders.

Towell, who remains in pain himself with rods and metal to repair his broken back, said it was a "just decision" not to file charges against him. His life too is "forever changed," he said.

He doesn't remember anything about the crash except waking up in a hospital.

Several of the top prosecutors in the office analyzed the case, Assistant District Attorney Mike Saleen said. Neither Towell nor his girlfriend, 18-year-old Sidney Marie Peters, knew how the pickup crossed over to the other lane, but all witnesses said there were gusty winds at the time, Saleen said.

Saleen said experience has shown jurors like to have evidence of a bad driving pattern before a crash in order to find guilt. There was none in this case, he said.

A California Highway Patrol report recommended the filing of vehicular manslaughter and unsafe turning movement charges based on evidence that the pickup suddenly turned into the path of Leventis' car, leaving neither vehicle any chance to get out of the way.

But Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Norris said, "We don't know if he (Towell) drove over the line or a gust of wind took him over. We don't have a traffic violation we can prove."

She noted there was no indication Towell was under the influence of anything, and there was no evidence he was distracted at the time, such as making a telephone call.

The victim's mother is especially upset there was no blood test given to Towell and prosecutors didn't check his telephone records.

Norris said the CHP didn't seize a sample of his blood, noting it apparently had no reason to do so.

No one checked his phone records. But Towell and his girlfriend told the investigating officer the last call they made was when they had stopped for gasoline in Bishop, Norris said.

Saleen explained all that to the victim's family. Mrs. Leventis said, "I don't buy that. I'm going to sue Kern County and the state of California."

CHARGES FILED BUT AN ACQUITTAL

Charles Tate, 62, stepped into the crosswalk to cross 24th Street at H Street as the sun was shining toward him December 26. A Golden Empire Transit bus turned left, struck him and killed him.

The bus was driven by 50-year-old Priscilla Martinez who said she didn't see him. GET officials said she has a "good driving record" with only one other accident 7 and 1/2 years ago.

"How can you not file it," asked Supervising Deputy District Attorney Scott Spielman. "This is obviously a professional driver who does it on her job. She has to be real cognizant of pedestrians."

So Martinez went to trial in April. A jury acquitted her of vehicular manslaughter but convicted her of an infraction, failing to yield to a pedestrian in a cross walk. She was fined $250.

She was represented in the trial by Deputy Public Defender Konrad Moore who said his case was aided by several video cameras in the bus.

"They showed how a utility pole at the corner obscured her view of the pedestrian," Moore said. "They also showed how as she turned, the sun flooded into the bus and shined into her face. This was a tragic accident without criminal liability."

The widow, Victoria Tate, is represented by civil attorney David Cohn. "She feels angry," Cohn said. "She doesn't understand what happened." He said he's pursuing a lawsuit against GET.

Spielman, without saying how jurors felt in this case, noted that many times jurors feel that everyone has moments of inattention and "there but for the grace of God go I."

NO CRIMINAL CHARGES BUT HUGE CIVIL JUDGMENT

Sometimes the victim's family gets some satisfaction in civil court even when no criminal charges are filed.

In October, 2007, David Gutierrez, 27, was driving a 2001 GMC work truck west on California Avenue near the Mervyns Place stop light. A paper blew off his dash, police reports say. He looked down for about two seconds to pick it up but when he looked up he crashed into the passenger side of a Honda Civic that was turning left in front of him, civil attorney David Cohn said.

Sabrina Pereira, 55, was killed and her cousin, Hilda Pereira, 55, and her cousin's grandchild, Joseph Sanchez Jr., 4, were injured.

No criminal charges were filed in the case due to insufficient evidence, prosecutors said. Police reported that before Gutierrez looked down, he said he had a green light.

The insurance company for Gutierrez, however, settled the case for $1.1 million, Cohn said.

PROSECUTION STANDARD

Prosecutors say they try to be consistent in whether or not they file misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges.

Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Norris said, "We look at whether a suspect committed a moving violation and we can prove that to a jury. When we can, we file. When we can't, we don't."

Spielman said whenever a decision is made not to file, a prosecutor informs the family of the victim. "We have a group of prosecutors review these cases to make sure we are doing the right thing," he said.

Deputy Public Defender Konrad Moore gives prosecutors, whose job it is to ensure justice, credit for giving due consideration. "They are always dealing with difficult situations when a person dies," he said. "Prosecutors make the best call under the circumstances. These cases warrant and receive considered attention."
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