Run over and kill someone, go to ja...well, you might possibly be punished, anyway...Recently, a 19-year-old Urbana woman made headlines after killing a cyclist on route 130 while downloading ringtones on her cell phone. After discovering that she was charged only with "improper lane usage," I was a bit irate, to say the least. As an occasional runner, cyclist, and motorcyclist, it seems plain wrong to me that someone can end the life of another human being through negligent, inattentive driving and not even face a license suspension. She entered a guilty plea a few weeks ago, and is to be sentenced on November 29th. The maximum sentence she can receive is a $1000.00 fine.
I calmed down a bit after reading Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz’s comments regarding the plea in the News-Gazette a few weeks ago. She stated that, with regard to her not charging the woman with reckless homicide or involuntary manslaughter, ""The mental state for (those crimes) is a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. And her actions here don't rise to that level. People drive negligently and cause accidents. Because accidents result in fatalities does not justify charging the driver with a felony." I, believe it or not, agree with this. Running over someone and depriving them of their life doesn’t necessarily require punishment in the form of years of unsolicited buggery in a state prison.
However…
Driving through a construction zone on I-57 last week, I noticed the signs which no one probably gives much thought to anymore; the signs that say "HIT A WORKER: $10,000 FINE / 14 YEARS." It struck me as extremely stupid that one could fly through a construction zone, missing all indications that they’re traveling through said zone, hit/kill a worker who is most likely expected to be dangerously close to the roadway, and be more liable or guilty of a higher crime than a person who drives over someone on route 130 while downloading a ringtone. Maybe I’m the only one who sees it this way (and admittedly, I don’t know offhand what charges one would face for killing someone in a construction zone), but this says to me that a driver must absolutely pay attention and obey the law in construction zones, but that attentiveness and responsibility are only "encouraged" on any other roadways. Why shouldn’t the penalties outside of a construction zone be as harsh? Why shouldn’t one, at least, lose their right to drive
FOREVER in the state of Illinois if they’ve killed someone through negligent driving? Civil suits aside, is your husband/wife/child/mother/father/friend/etc. worth only $1,000—payable to the state of Illinois? When someone is killed through bad driving, do the bereaved find additional peace of mind in knowing that whoever killed their loved one is absolutely free to do it again?
State’s Attorney Rietz went on to say that, "Any time someone violates a traffic safety law or gives less than their full attention to safe driving, it's more likely an accident is going to result, but that is not recklessness under the law. That's negligence. If people disagree with the law as it is written, they should address their state legislators." I plan to do just that.
Enjoy!!
