The Boston Globe has a story of man who killed a teen when he lost control of his SUV while sending a text message on his cell phone.
The man accused of killing a 13-year-old boy in a hit-and-run in Taunton told police he was behind the wheel typing a text message on his cellphone when he lost control of the sport utility vehicle and hit what he thought was a mailbox, a prosecutor said today in court.
So take this man at his word, even if he had hit a mailbox, wouldn’t the right thing be to stop and at least leave a note of apology and offer to pay for a replacement? Forgive me, but I need to get up on my soapbox for just a minute here. I think this incident speaks to some greater moral degradation that’s happening in the good old USA. I happen to live across the street from a field where they hold little league and football practices. During the sporting seasons, it’s not unusual to have cars lined up across the street from my house. I’ve lost count of how many times our mailbox has been hit; it’s been completely taken out twice and I know of at least two back car windows that were broken. Only one person, in all of these incidents, has left us a note! I’m sure that the two people who broke their back car windows were fuming, but it’s not my fault they backed into our mailbox, and it took a tremendous amount of my time to clean up the shattered glass all over the road, our yard, etc. I for one would leave a note, but clearly I’m in the minority. I’m sure some people don’t even know they hit the mailbox, which is even scarier, when you consider it’s about the same height as the kids practicing on the field across the street. Okay, end of soapbox rant.
The boy, Earman Machado, was sleeping over at a friend’s house Thursday night. The teens had gone out at 12:30 a.m. to meet two girls, Strojny said today in Taunton District Court. Machado was riding a bicycle and his friend was walking on the soft shoulder of the road. Police said the friend, also 13, attempted to call 911, but was unable to get through on his cellphone.
What in the world were two 13 year olds doing out at 12:30am? Perhaps the kids snuck out and the parents didn’t know. If they did, I’m sure they are asking themselves this very same question. It’s unlikely the kid had proper lights on his bike, probably the best we can hope for are some reflectors.
Bigos hung his head in court today and was released on $5,000 bail. He was arraigned on charges that included motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 23.
Well, I guess this takes away my standard verdict recommendation, suspend or take away the motorist’s license. You can’t really take one away, if he doesn’t have one. I wonder if he even had any type of auto insurance?
This is truly another sad day for cyclists.