kill a cyclist get probation
Thread started by
chunk at 12.1.06 - 9:01 pm
s'up ridazz
got this story emailed to me today. thought some of y'al might find it interesting...
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts_crime_fire/2006/11/30/woman_is_sentenced_for_bicyclists_death
the gist of the story is that while downloading ringtones to her cell phone, a 19 year old girl drifted so far out of her lane that she hit a cyclist with the driver's side of her car. the impact resulted in fatal head injuries despite the use of a helmet. because of a loop hole in illinois law, the most she could be found guilty of was 'improper lane usuage" which carries a hefty fine of $1,000, traffic school and six months probation.
now here's the kicker, the girl's 19, right? so of course she's gotta be on the myspace. five minutes of stalking, er research, turned up this profile which more than likely has to belong to the killer...
right name...right age...right town...
http://www.myspace.com/jenniebob18
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hehehehehe..yeah Ill assume its the right person...I get this message..
Invalid Friend ID.
This user has either cancelled their membership, or their account has been deleted.
we should really try to find the DA tho...thats who needs the stalking..you know?
miaou.distruktion12.1.06 - 10:23 pm
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thats total BS...
State's Attorney Julia Rietz should be ashamed of herself for not pressing homicide or manslaughter charges...if this girl hit a car and killed a motorist would the punishment be just the same? I think not.
j3r3my12.1.06 - 10:24 pm
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and did you know about this in CA:
Starting July 1, 2008, SB1613 would:
Require motorists to use a hands-free device when using a cell phone while driving. Impose a $20 fine for a first offense, $50 for subsequent offenses. Exempt emergency personnel, farm vehicle operators, tow truck drivers and commercial truck drivers. Exempt motorists making 911 calls.
______________________________
its a step in the right direction... but:
1. fine is too low
2. using cell phones is more dangerous than driving drunk
3. it doesn't add points to your record or increase insurance rates (WTF?!)
4. death machine/semi-trucks can use cell phones?!!! what?!!
j3r3my12.1.06 - 10:28 pm
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rats, i didn't think she'd delete her profile so soon. maybe it was her parents punishing her. judging by the 'glitter' on her page, the incident didn't seem to phase her, though her friends were nices with some hang in there type comments.
but... she was nice enough to write an apology letter to the town newspaper...
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/opinions/letters/2006/09/24/motorist_apologizes_for_fatal_accident?src=rss
I am the young woman who hit Matthew Wilhelm with her car. I just want the family and friends of Matthew to know that I am truly sorry for what I have done. I am not excusing myself for what happened. I take full reponsibility for I have done. I never meant to hurt anyone. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a bad or hurtful person.
I never meant to do anything like this. I know that no matter what I say or do I can never take back what has happened or undo the hurt and grief I have caused. However, I still wanted to say that I am very sorry.
JENNIFER STARK
Urbana
chunk12.1.06 - 10:58 pm
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this was posted about on another forum im on this morning, and i sent her a nasty message. she read it, but i never got a response.
i thought she was 16 and not 19?
ruinedbyidiots12.2.06 - 12:31 am
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that penalty is total bullshit
i read about this a few days ago at another website. what pissed me off was that this accident was her 3rd driving offense. she's at the oldest, 19 y.o.a. age all she gets is a bullshit probation?
i'm not for wishing death on people, so i'll settle for wishing bloody, burning diahrrea on her for the rest of her life
bicigol12.2.06 - 10:04 am
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this is very sad... very sad... though this girl is obviously a fucking stupid idiot, if anything I'd like to focus some efforts on contacting the people that let her go scott free. that's where it counts the most towards reform... has anybody found a governmental email address where we can send complaints as well?
Roadblock12.2.06 - 11:52 am
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heres a cached version of her myspace page.
http://72.14.209.104/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.myspace.com%2Fjenniebob18&btnG=Google+Search
ruinedbyidiots12.2.06 - 1:17 pm
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Julia Rietz
State's Attorney
statesatty@co.champaign.il.us
here you go.... the more we let ignorant politicians like Julia Rietz know wassup with killing bicyclists... anywhere they live in the world.... the more we do for bicycle safety.
Roadblock12.2.06 - 4:27 pm
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Can someone tell me why the fuck this girl wasn't convicted of manslaughter?
I am writing a letter right now.
I think we should bombard Ms. Reitz with letters. Maybe we could post something on the site, a draft or some kind of link that would automaticlly generate an email for people to send?
anonymitytheif12.2.06 - 5:55 pm
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make sure she knows where you are from as in Los Angeles. It would really make an impact I think knowning that the word has spread beyond her town.
Roadblock12.2.06 - 7:10 pm
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This is what I sent off...
Dear Ms. Rietz,
I am writing this letter to you in an attempt to express my concern not only as member of the cycling community, but as a citizen as well. I am outraged by the conviction of Jennifer Stark. Matthew Wilhelm was killed by this girl who was more concerned with her cell phone than the responsibilities inherent in being a motorist. I feel that her punishment for such a crime is laughable and absurd. Jennifer Starks driving record shows 2 speeding violations as well as a disregard of a traffic light. I feel that a sentence of Reckless Homicide would have been much more appropriate considering this driving record. This is clearly a case of willful and wanton behavior and should have been treated as such.
I sincerely hope that you and your office are able to create and push tougher legistration that will address this serious flaw. I also hope that this situation will not set a precedent for how Illinois will deal with the irresponsibilities of motorists and their interactions with cyclists and pedestrians.
Crystal Moore
Los Angeles, CA
anonymitytheif12.2.06 - 7:22 pm
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nice!
I guess I got a lil carried away:
SHAME ON YOU JULIA RIETZ.
I, along with many cyclists in my hometown and across this nation know your name and how little you value a cyclist's life.
You can make the argument that JENNIFER STARK was only 19 and didnt mean to kill Matthew Wilhelm but that doesnt mean that examples shouldnt be fucking set for the rest of the driving community to respect cyclists! Without proper enforcement and convicitons, crimes CONTINUE. This girl should have been charged with vehicular man slaughter and given AT LEAST 2 years in prison so she and all the other cyclist killers in the nation can feel the pressure and consequences of their careless self absorbed behaviour.
Hundreds of cyclists in our nation die every year as a result of ignorant people who don't respect cyclist's right to the road and who aren't educated properly about them. This calous disregard leads to unnecessary cyclist deaths. YOUR actions help keep people ignorant and in fact embolden dangerous drivers. Think about that.
We're watching.
Roadblock12.2.06 - 7:32 pm
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Wow. Jennifer Stark doesn't appear to be too mournful based on her cached myspace page.
personally I would be devastated if I erroneously killed someone especially while doing something so frivoluos as downloading a ringtone. Not sure I'd have time for a pimped out myspace profile within 2 months of killing a person....
A more proper and truly remorseful response from her would be perhaps for her to volunteer a great deal of time to the Matts law initiative. She could acknowledge with great emphasis that her ignorance caused the situation and that the only solution to ignorance is education.
Education costs time and money. She could either have her wages garnished and donated to the cause (based on percentage of income) or she could serve volunteer position to pass Matts Law. Have her driving privileges removed. Things like that.... She should understand that her sentence was unfair for Matt Wilhelm's family. She owe's something significant to them.
Roadblock12.2.06 - 9:23 pm
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Somehow, this girl’s first offense was never sent to the Secretary of State by the County Clerk’s Office. Under state law, drivers under age 21 will lose their license if they have two driving violations within 24 months. This girl had three violations (5/1/05, 11/29/05, 7/10/06) before Matt’s accident. On her first ticket, the girl failed to complete supervision and according to Ms. Reitz, the County Clerk’s office failed to report that to the Secretary of State’s Office. The third ticket didn’t cause revocation due to “normal” processing delays (54 days before the accident). Supposedly, her license is suspended as of September 16, but no one knows for how long. The Secretary of State will determine the length of license revocation. Expressing your opinion to the Secretary of State is encouraged to:
E-mail: DriverServicesDepartmentOfficeoftheIllinoisSecretaryofState@ILSOS.NET
Mail: Mr. Jesse White, Secretary of State
213 State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
ruinedbyidiots12.3.06 - 12:42 am
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also, Illinois law doesn’t have a “negligent vehicular homicide” law as some other states. I guess they have a reckless manslaughter law but the act wasnt considered reckless, so they didn't charge that. the family is pushing for this new negligence law
ruinedbyidiots12.3.06 - 12:43 am
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Eh, I don't say that much here but I think some folks are going farther than necessary with this. The asshole who hit Lars' friend/girlfriend *intentionally* is the type of person more deserving of prison time (and a life threatening ass beating) than some ditzy dipshit 19 year old downloading ringtones. I'm an avid rider and I believe deeply in reforming bicycle safety laws nationwide, but I also think we should consider that sentencing this dumb/young chick to prison time for being a dumb/young chick would make 2 tragedies out of one. She should be made to pay somehow, but prison would cost everyone money and ruin her life.
Compassion is the key- but not only for the victim.
eric12.4.06 - 9:47 am
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I agree with you Eric to a degree... but part of the reason people are dumb and ditzy about things like this is because there is no culture of accountabilty which comes from doing your time for your crime combined with people talking about it... 19 years old actually used to be an age of maturity and that means recognizing that you are driving a lethal object and need to be of a mature mind to handle the responsibility. if we or anyone you know is not faced with real actual consequneces for your actions then you become lax and do it again.
it's this lax atmosphere that a truly mean spirited driver such as the one who hit Jen could rely upon to get away with a road rage act and simply go to court claiming that they too were downloading ringtones and get off with probation. THAT is the issue. there really is no concrete evidence that the driver who hit Jen did it on purpose other than the perception of the witnesses and likewise there is no concrete evidence that Jennifer Stark wasnt commiting an act of roadrage other than assumedly her own account of not paying attention.
a life is valuable. people will only learn to value life if they face consequences for taking them. just because she is a 19 year old seemingly innocent and young doesnt mean she shouldnt be punished. like I said the lax atmosphere will embolden dangerous drivers and it will lull regular drivers into not paying attention. examples have to be set otherwise crimes continue and negligently running down a cyclist who is obeying traffic laws is a crime. sure it will be harsh for her as a 19 year old to go to prison for a couple years but that harsh reality will wake her the fuck up, and the news would spread that a cyclist's life is to be respected.
Roadblock12.4.06 - 10:04 am
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in other words.... lets say this guy who ran down Jen turns out to be a 19 year old girl and claims that she was downloading ringtones? because it was an act of negligence she should be let off with probation? let's say word spreads about this easy excuse and a real actual road rager hears about it... do you think it might make it a lil easier for the guy to lose his mind next time he wants to run down a cyclist? maybe he might become a little more brazen considering the punishment is not so serious??
Roadblock12.4.06 - 10:19 am
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I'd still like to know how killing someone with a car is NOT manslaughter, specifically a form of criminal negligence:
Criminal negligence
Negligence consists of conduct by an individual which is not reasonable -- that is, the individual did not act with the care and caution of a reasonable person in similar circumstances. This "reasonable person" is fictitious, of course, but reflects the standard of conduct which society wishes to impose. Violation of this standard may lead to civil liability for the consequences of the negligent behavior.
Negligence rises to the level of criminal negligence where the conduct reaches a higher degree of carelessness or inattention, perhaps to the point of indifference.
-----
I'd say downloading ringtones whilst driving is a pretty high degree of fucking carelessness, innatention, and pretty indifferent to the surroundings around you.
FuzzBeast12.5.06 - 12:00 am
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Great letters Roadblock and Thief. I'll be penning one tonight along those same lines.
The problem here is again the societal ill that nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. The driver in this case was obviously more concerned about her friggin smell phone than she was the lives of those around her vehicle, including others in vehicles. Her selfishness cost the life of a young man and she should be punished for this selfishness. But no, the state doesn't want to make her accountable for this selfishness, so she gets a slap on the wrist and others see that, knowing they truly don't have to give a shit about anyone else while they are driving a motor vehicle in that particular state. I agree with ruinedbyidiots.
Jeronimo12.5.06 - 2:29 pm
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I just got mine off:
Subject: Stark trial
"The intended recipient of this e-mail is Julia Reitz.
Dear Julia Reitz,
I will keep this short: as a cyclist who commutes daily to and from work, the legal precedent you set in the matter of Jennifer Stark terrifies me. Essentially your handling of the case establishes that the penalty a driver may face for taking the life of a cyclist is comparable to the penalty a driver may face for littering.
To myself, to thousands of my fellow cyclists, and most of all to the family of Matthew Wilhelm, that is a grave and sobering injustice.
Sincerely,
David Miser
Los Angeles, CA"
Do we have any contact information for the family of Matthew Wilhelm? Perhaps they would be appreciative of a tasteful note telling them about the solidarity and sympathy the national cycling community has in this matter.
City Hobgoblin12.5.06 - 3:11 pm
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edit: that should have read
"...has for them in this matter."
City Hobgoblin12.5.06 - 3:12 pm
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