Back in the 80s I used to watch a game show in Japan called "Naruhodo! The World." They'd show videos of the bizarre from around the world, and the contestants had to decide if they're for real or not. This running-powered tricycle video would have been perfect for that show. Via.
A nice kid with straight As in school swerves into the bike lane in Santa Cruz and kills a Mexican on a bicycle. The kid expresses remorse. His mother offers a tearful apology to the deceased's family. Amazingly, the judge throws the book at the driver, sentencing him to four years in state prison after he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
New York Times talks about death by blogging. Bloggers "can earn as little as $10 a post." Ha, don't I wish! :o) I haven't had problems with weight gain, sleep disorders, or any of the other maladies (including death) reported in the article, so I must be doing something right.
Photo of Ashlee above by Robert Kurtz. Go check his blog on life, biking and photography.
7 comments:
i don't get why it's amazing that he's going to jail. he was wasted! when alcohol is involved it's easier to do something about it.
I read the Blogger article over the weekend as well. As with all things, the *desire* to keep on the cutting edge is often pushed to the side by the ease at which we're able to publish, that mixed with the need to fatten the next paycheck is a formula for mis-use. Anyways, I probably shouldn't talk, I haven't updated my blog with a feature in a few weeks (been focused on the *real* paycheck I get).
...i'd say that blogging about bicycles, in light of the fact that people in the "blogging business" are stressed out & dropping like flies from sitting in front of keyboards all day, make you & all the other actual cycling bike posters look like geniuses...keep pedalin'...
...the post about the santa cruz student reminds us of just how fragile existence is...an intelligent A student makes one particularly bad decision & things will never be the same for so many people...
I've enjoyed this blog since I added it to my RSS reader awhile ago... I'm absolutely amazed however at the ways you reference the bike accident story above.
"A nice kid with straight As in school swerves into the bike lane in Santa Cruz and kills a Mexican on a bicycle."
I read the article. The kid had twice the legal limit of alcohol and because he gets A's he is a nice kid? He KILLED someone.
Why refer to the deceased as a "Mexican" as well? Not "kills a man on a bicycle" but "kills a Mexican on a bicycle" - Why?
I really am curious about the above thoughts and welcome to read your response.
Cheers
From the article:
The Judge Jeff [Almquist said a prison sentence would best send "that message to the community." But, acknowledging Hodali's sincere regret coupled with the fact that he had no prior run-ins with the law, Almquist ordered four years of prison time, though that number could have been as high as 10 years.]
I must agree with cyburke on this one. The judge gave him less than half of the max sentence, and the article says he can be out in as little as 3 years by completing a 12 step program. I would say that the sentence was fair.
Poor, recent immigrants often get the short end of the stick when it comes to justice. A more typical outcome to this case might be the 'good' affluent student with the tearful mother getting probation and community service, while the victim's family, speaking through an interpreter, are brushed off. It's good to see judges who are willing to give time for real crimes.
Well, the immigrant you're speaking of had 10 times the hellucination level of meth, higher level of alcohol, and marijuana in his system. Oh yeah, there was a warrant for his arrest and had six to seven prior convictions for posession of meth, cocaine, domestic abuse, and three DUIs. See, the media did not mention any of the deceased's past and that the defendant was three houses away from his house. A witness stated that the victim was riding his bike erratically and skipping from one drive way to the next, dark clothing, no light on his bike, no street lights, and a moonless night. How do we know that the bicyclist wasn't the one who ran into the truck since he was so highly wasted.
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