Driver killed 14-year old boy (going 83 in a 45 zone); now he is suing the boy's parents for "neglig

[Aussie_Al]

I am not sure if this is the right section for this but I am just soo mad

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/david-weaving-convicted-in-teen-bicyclists-death-sues-victim-matthew-kenneys-parents/19716953

"A driver convicted of manslaughter for killing a 14-year-old Connecticut boy is suing the victim's parents for negligence, claiming they let their son ride his bike on a busy road without a helmet.

The Associated Press reports that David Weaving, who is serving a 10-year sentence for slamming his car into Matthew Kenney, is suing Kenney's parents for $15,000 for causing him "great mental and emotional pain and suffering" and inhibiting his "capacity to carry on in life's activities."

Weaving...has been arrested five times for drunken driving in the past two decades, but was not convicted of drunken driving in the accident that caused Kenney's death."

The Victim:

 

[steve]

Wow that is disgusting, I'm amazed he can even run this case.

causing him "great mental and emotional pain and suffering" and inhibiting his "capacity to carry on in life's activities."

So he obviously doesn't regret what he did /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif

 

[davereo]

Originally Posted by steve .


So he obviously doesn't regret what he did /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif

He surely doesn't and it should be considered when he is up for parole./img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif

 

[slovakguy]

the idiot should be thankful that most likely every cyclist will be excluded from being selected as a jury member.

 

[swampy1970]

Just a little more background info on the case and the suit that was filed...

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/usnews/ci_16611590

Matthew, a well-liked seventh-grader who played several sports, suffered severe head and internal injuries, broken bones and lacerations. He was declared brain dead the next day.

Weaving insists he was driving the speed limit and wasn't acting recklessly when he passed another car in a legal passing zone and Matthew suddenly appeared in the road around dusk in wet, foggy conditions. He alleges Matthew and some friends were jumping their bikes off a ramp at the end of a friend's driveway and landing in the middle of the two-lane road.

In his lawsuit, Weaving wrote that had the Kenneys "complied with the responsibilities of a parent and guardian and the laws of this state and not allowed their son to ride his bicycle without a helmet and to play out in the middle of Rt. 69 ... this incident and Matthew's death would not have happened."

So there's a few issues at hand.

1. Weaving should have had his licence permanently revoked due to repeated DUIs. The State admits they f**ked up and the boys family are sueing the DMV.
2. Excess speed in bad conditions.
3. Possible activities of extreme stupidity on the part of the kids. Even if there's an element of truth to any part of that, especially at dusk in the fog, it at least goes some way to explain the accident - rather than have us believe that he was just ploughed down from behind. You'd expect that as it was a "legal passing zone" the road would normally offer good visability - however, I'm sure most cyclists who have ridden in fog are aware of the sound deadening effect. Not that it exhonerates him from doing almost twice the speed limit...

But it just sucks whichever way you look at it - no kid deserves to have his life ended in such a way, even if he was possibly doing something a bit stupid.

 

[jhuskey]

It is not unusual to see this type of suit. It is a desperation move on the part of a desperate individual. Of course he may even believe his innocence himself since accountabliity is long dead and buried in the US.

 

[vspa]

Originally Posted by jhuskey .

It is not unusual to see this type of suit. It is a desperation move on the part of a desperate individual. Of course he may even believe his innocence himself since accountabliity is long dead and buried in the US.

desperate and hypocritical individual...

 

[TrekDedicated]

That guy needs to be forced to drop the soap in the shower....

 

[64Paramount]

Originally Posted by davereo .



Quote: Originally Posted by steve .


So he obviously doesn't regret what he did /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif

He surely doesn't and it should be considered when he is up for parole./img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif



+1 You got that right! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif

 

[cyberlegend1994]

Only in the USA - the land where anyone can sue anyone for any reason... Sickening is too mild a term for this case...

 

[Scotttri]

Originally Posted by cyberlegend1994 .

Only in the USA - the land where anyone can sue anyone for any reason... /img/vbsmilies/smilies//rolleyes.gif Sickening is too mild a term for this case...

+1 Americans can sue for almost anything and quite often get away with it. I hope that it doesn't happen in this case. Leave the parents of this nhow deceased child alone. Why drag them through more pain.

 

[swampy1970]

The question remains though - were the kids jumping off a ramp and landing into the middle of a state route... in fog?

I've googled and tried to find an answer for this one but with no luck. There's the "claim" from the driver than they were but we can take a guess at his level of 'reliability'.

If they were jumping off and as the boy was a minor then yeah, there should be some comeback on this. There were two parties involved and both are responsible for their actions. Legally, the kids parents are responsible for his. Unfortunately and tragically, the boy is dead.

We don't know all the factors - weather/how thick the fog was etc etc but personally, I think that jumping into a state route with a speed limit of greater than 25mph, in fog, is pretty much asking for it. I'm guessing a lot of us as kids jumped our bikes off ramps and I'm guessing I'm not the only one to have eaten dirt a few times while doing it. The thought of munching asphalt after a bad landing in the middle of a busy road... yikes.

If it was my kid out there doing something like that and I knew about it I'd be out there ready to whoop her backside with the board that she was using for the ramp whilst, in no uncertain terms, telling her how stupid and dangerous it was. Her friends would be sent off back home and she'd be inside for a "period of reflection" and hating life but after another trip through the country lanes to see some roadkill, she realise that she was fortunate to be alive.

We don't know if the kid just popped a jump off the end of the ramp into the oncoming path of the car (ie, the bike was either still in the air or had just landed) or he'd landed and was turning around and riding back... If it was the former then it doesn't really matter if the driver was doing 45mph or 80mph if a bike mystically appears out of the fog right in front of you the (a) there's no time to react and (b) at that speed it's game over for the kid - anything above 30mph and the risk of death and serious injury increases greatly.

America - land of lack of accountability.

The driver doing twice the legal limit needs to be severely punished for just the speeding. I've often wondered why they don't increase the fines for people breaking speed limits on roads where houses are present relative to the fines given on freeways.

 

[Aussie_Al]

Has any body heard more on the case? I couldn't find an update

 

[vspa]

not nearly as serious as this case but once on a training ride with one friend this 15 yo girl jump on the road from the sidewalk just 1 second before we came past her, totally her fault.
so after the crash we walked her home to make sure she was allright, next thing i know her mother sue my friend ???
police made him go and sign every week if i remember well to this location which was not near at all and pay some indemnities to this family.

 

[blazingpedals]

The "maximum safe speed" for a road is determined by, among other things, the amount of clear vision a driver has. Since the driver didn't see the kid in time, he was obviously going too fast for conditions. If there was fog, even 45 mph would have been too fast. The fact that he didn't see the kid in time doesn't mean the kid was in the wrong, it emphasizes that he was.

 

[slovakguy]

so let me see if i have your point correct, swampy. the minor, who was being stupid if he actually were jumping into a fog shrouded street, who was actually struck by a car and later died of the wounds, that the minor's immature actions justifies this moron's lawsuit to further punish the parents? didn't they lose enough in the child's death that you try and shift a bit of the blame on the deceased which should mitigate my distaste for this jerk suing the parents? there is trolling for arguments and then there is this that you've put forward.

 

[blazingpedals]

I suspect, like the Tour de Tuscon lawsuit, it's mostly to establish degree of guilt so that the wrongful death award is reduced. Establish 50% guilt on the part of the kid and the award gets cut in half. In fact, maybe it's not even a crime if it's the kid's own fault for jumping in front of him. (where's that GRRRRR smilie?)

 

[jhuskey]

In a comparitive fault state there is no compensation award if the established fault is 50% for the defendant. It must be at least 51%.

 

[glockrocks]

Originally Posted by TrekDedicated .

That guy needs to be forced to drop the soap in the shower....

NOW THIS COMMENT REALLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE TOPIC!,