Update re Bicyclist was killed by woman driver downloading cell phone ring tones

[Yarper]

I posted the story below about how a bicyclist was killed
by woman driver who was downloading cell phone ring tones,
and how Democratic State Attorney Julia Reitz, who ironically
is listed as working for a personal-injury law firm, let the killer
get away with vehicular homicide with only a slap on the wrist.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2006/11/30/woman_is_sentenced_for_bicyclists_death

Since then I've learned that State Attorney Julia Reitz got into
office based on only about $12500 of campaign funds,
according to official records, most of which was a loan from
herself, thus it appears on the surface that her campaign was not
funded by a cell phone company or car company.
Her decision to misrepresent the situation in order to avoid
prosecuting is thus unexplained. Perhaps she has
ambitions that doing the right thing would disrupt?

If you feel outraged by this situation, and wonder
if you can feel safe riding a bicycle in the USA when
state officials like Julia Reitz take the killing of bicyclists
so lightly, like the swatting of a fly, I would suggest that you
email both the reporter and the State Attorney herself.

You can contact the reporter Mary Shenk here:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/reporter/mschenk/

The email for State Attorney Julia Reitz's office is
[email protected]
and the phone number is 217-384-3733.

When citizens don't speak up, politicians forget they exist.
Reitz had mishandled this situation so badly,
it's worth asking whether she can be removed from office.

 

[Al Bundy]

Yarper wrote:
> I posted the story below about how a bicyclist was killed
> by woman driver who was downloading cell phone ring tones,
> and how Democratic State Attorney Julia Reitz, who ironically
> is listed as working for a personal-injury law firm, let the killer
> get away with vehicular homicide with only a slap on the wrist.
>
>
What a terrible injustice. I hate these cases where the criminal can't
possibly make restitution for his deeds. And I mean criminal. A car is
a dangerous weapon. Such behavior calls for a lifetime driving
suspension in addition to jail time.
It was probably dark at the time, but that calls for more care from the
driver and is not the slightest reason to cut her a break.

 

[Al Bundy]

Yarper wrote:
> Al Bundy wrote:
>
> > It was probably dark at the time, but that calls for more care from the
> > driver and is not the slightest reason to cut her a break.
>
> If you read the article, it seems to have been in broad
> daylight and there was a witness.

I thought I saw the time was 7:15. That would have been dark where I
live. It's a small point and changes nothing as far as responsibility.
I believe in my venue the prosecutor would have brought a charge of
manslaughter or reckless endangerment with heavy jail time.

 

[richard]

NOPE! The sun was still up, and there was about a half-hour of daylight
remaining. (Local resident here...)

Al Bundy wrote:
> Yarper wrote:
>
>>Al Bundy wrote:
>>
>>
>>>It was probably dark at the time, but that calls for more care from the
>>>driver and is not the slightest reason to cut her a break.
>>
>>If you read the article, it seems to have been in broad
>>daylight and there was a witness.
>
>
> I thought I saw the time was 7:15. That would have been dark where I
> live. It's a small point and changes nothing as far as responsibility.
> I believe in my venue the prosecutor would have brought a charge of
> manslaughter or reckless endangerment with heavy jail time.
>

 

[richard]

JR won election because of a controversial call by the incumpatent SA.
An Illini basketball player was indirectly involved in a burglery. The
player "paid restitution", and burglery charges against him were not
pressed (although they were on those more directly involved).

SO, the irony here is the campaign had the "will your rights be
protected?" undertone. This girl (the driver) wasn't even a demi-god a
basketball player in this town seems to be...

Yarper wrote:
> I posted the story below about how a bicyclist was killed
> by woman driver who was downloading cell phone ring tones,
> and how Democratic State Attorney Julia Reitz, who ironically
> is listed as working for a personal-injury law firm, let the killer
> get away with vehicular homicide with only a slap on the wrist.
>
> http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2006/11/30/woman_is_sentenced_for_bicyclists_death
>
> Since then I've learned that State Attorney Julia Reitz got into
> office based on only about $12500 of campaign funds,
> according to official records, most of which was a loan from
> herself, thus it appears on the surface that her campaign was not
> funded by a cell phone company or car company.
> Her decision to misrepresent the situation in order to avoid
> prosecuting is thus unexplained. Perhaps she has
> ambitions that doing the right thing would disrupt?
>
> If you feel outraged by this situation, and wonder
> if you can feel safe riding a bicycle in the USA when
> state officials like Julia Reitz take the killing of bicyclists
> so lightly, like the swatting of a fly, I would suggest that you
> email both the reporter and the State Attorney herself.
>
> You can contact the reporter Mary Shenk here:
> http://www.news-gazette.com/news/reporter/mschenk/
>
> The email for State Attorney Julia Reitz's office is
> [email protected]
> and the phone number is 217-384-3733.
>
> When citizens don't speak up, politicians forget they exist.
> Reitz had mishandled this situation so badly,
> it's worth asking whether she can be removed from office.
>

 

[Don Klipstein]

In <[email protected]>, Al Bundy wrote:
>
>Yarper wrote:
>> Al Bundy wrote:
>>
>> > It was probably dark at the time, but that calls for more care from the
>> > driver and is not the slightest reason to cut her a break.
>>
>> If you read the article, it seems to have been in broad
>> daylight and there was a witness.
>
>I thought I saw the time was 7:15. That would have been dark where I
>live. It's a small point and changes nothing as far as responsibility.
>I believe in my venue the prosecutor would have brought a charge of
>manslaughter or reckless endangerment with heavy jail time.

AM or PM? What date? (If that was in an earlier article, I forgot that
by now) What location?

I surely think that it is daylight at 7:15 AM in late spring and early
summer almost everywhere, and at 7:15 PM in late spring and early
summer in most North America locations, especially with Daylight Savings
Time.

And if it was dark and that made the driver have an even harder time not
hitting others while using the phone, then the driver's responsibility
to not use the phone while driving accordingly increases.

- Don Klipstein ([email protected])