Pedestrian convicted of vehicular homicide...

[Aura]

What?! :banghead:

 

 

I saw this yesterday, and I've been angry ever since. I live in GA and my yahoo page gives links to AJC articles. This one popped up BRIEFLY. Now the story seems dead. And I don't think it should be. So after a quick google, I came here to share and to vent.

 

 

 

-------

 

Marietta pedestrian convicted of vehicular manslaughter, while walking

 

 

 

How do you get convicted of vehicular manslaughter when you weren't even driving a car? By crossing a busy road in an unwalkable neighborhood of Marietta Georgia.

 

 

 

 

Raquel Nelson, Marietta, was convicted today of vehicular manslaughter in an incident where she and her children were struck by a repeat hit-and-run driver, Jerry L. Guy. She could be sentenced for up to 36 months in prison while Mr. Guy pled guilty to hit-and-run and served 6 months.

 

 

 

 

The incident occurred in early April 2010 when Ms. Nelson and her children were crossing Austell Road after disembarking from a bus across from the apartment complex where they lived. Jerry Guy struck Ms. Nelson and three of her four children, then fled the scene and was captured the next day.

 

 

 

 

In 1997 the same Jerry Guy also committed a hit-and-run accident, also on Austell Road, when he rear-ended one car, fled the scene, and then later ran into another car, and fled that scene on foot.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson's 4 year old son died of injuries at the hospital, both Ms. Nelson and her 2 year old daughter were injured, and her 9 year old daughter escaped injury.

 

 

 

 

Jerry Guy was originally charged with hit and run, first-degree homicide by vehicle, duty to report accident resulting in death or injury, and cruelty to children, but most of those were dropped leaving only the hit-and-run charge.

 

 

 

 

It would be easy to point the finger at either Jerry Guy or Raquel Nelson. Jerry Guy as a repeat hit-and-run offender certainly can't be receiving much sympathy here, especially after admitting to having had a "little" alcohol earlier.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson, while she has suffered a huge loss, was crossing a busy road with three children in tow which one might consider reckless. But these two points of view leave out another.

 

 

 

 

Namely, that the incident occurred in an extremely unwalkable neighborhood that appears to be outright dangerous to pedestrians. The location is a four lane divided road, with only a concrete strip in the middle. News reports say the nearest crosswalks are a half mile away, confirmed using the streetview feature of Google Maps. Residents of Ms. Nelson's apartment complex have complained for years about the dangers of crossing at that spot.

 

 

 

 

The location of the incident is well away from the center of Marrietta, and the Walkscore of 25 for the neighborhood is extremely low and "car dependant". It's the sort of road where the only design consideration is the efficient movement of cars, no consideration was given to beauty or ease of use in other transportation modes.

 

 

 

 

Compounding the neighborhood's low walkscore is it's overall design of cul-de-sac's attached to a busy main road. While cul-de-sacs are attractive due to the quiet, they also prevent pedestrian access to nearby streets.

 

 

 

A streetsblog blog post notes that "Atlanta-Sandy-Springs-Marietta, Georgia metro area ranks 11th in the country for most dangerous streets for pedestrians, according to Transportation for America’s recent report on pedestrian safety and street design."

 

In other words, was Ms. Nelson reckless or were she and her children victims of a neighborhood designed to be dangerous to pedestrians?

 

 

--end of article--

 

 

 

 

This article goes into a lot more detail than the original AJC article I read. It sounds to me like the city made some poor planning and development issues, and rather than admitting that and fixing them, they want to make this poor woman their scapegoat. :mad:

 

And the man that actually hit and killed the child gets six months?! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

 

 

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

What?! :banghead:

 

 

I saw this yesterday, and I've been angry ever since. I live in GA and my yahoo page gives links to AJC articles. This one popped up BRIEFLY. Now the story seems dead. And I don't think it should be. So after a quick google, I came here to share and to vent.

 

 

 

-------

 

Marietta pedestrian convicted of vehicular manslaughter, while walking

 

 

 

How do you get convicted of vehicular manslaughter when you weren't even driving a car? By crossing a busy road in an unwalkable neighborhood of Marietta Georgia.

 

 

 

 

Raquel Nelson, Marietta, was convicted today of vehicular manslaughter in an incident where she and her children were struck by a repeat hit-and-run driver, Jerry L. Guy. She could be sentenced for up to 36 months in prison while Mr. Guy pled guilty to hit-and-run and served 6 months.

 

 

 

 

The incident occurred in early April 2010 when Ms. Nelson and her children were crossing Austell Road after disembarking from a bus across from the apartment complex where they lived. Jerry Guy struck Ms. Nelson and three of her four children, then fled the scene and was captured the next day.

 

 

 

 

In 1997 the same Jerry Guy also committed a hit-and-run accident, also on Austell Road, when he rear-ended one car, fled the scene, and then later ran into another car, and fled that scene on foot.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson's 4 year old son died of injuries at the hospital, both Ms. Nelson and her 2 year old daughter were injured, and her 9 year old daughter escaped injury.

 

 

 

 

Jerry Guy was originally charged with hit and run, first-degree homicide by vehicle, duty to report accident resulting in death or injury, and cruelty to children, but most of those were dropped leaving only the hit-and-run charge.

 

 

 

 

It would be easy to point the finger at either Jerry Guy or Raquel Nelson. Jerry Guy as a repeat hit-and-run offender certainly can't be receiving much sympathy here, especially after admitting to having had a "little" alcohol earlier.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson, while she has suffered a huge loss, was crossing a busy road with three children in tow which one might consider reckless. But these two points of view leave out another.

 

 

 

 

Namely, that the incident occurred in an extremely unwalkable neighborhood that appears to be outright dangerous to pedestrians. The location is a four lane divided road, with only a concrete strip in the middle. News reports say the nearest crosswalks are a half mile away, confirmed using the streetview feature of Google Maps. Residents of Ms. Nelson's apartment complex have complained for years about the dangers of crossing at that spot.

 

 

 

 

The location of the incident is well away from the center of Marrietta, and the Walkscore of 25 for the neighborhood is extremely low and "car dependant". It's the sort of road where the only design consideration is the efficient movement of cars, no consideration was given to beauty or ease of use in other transportation modes.

 

 

 

 

Compounding the neighborhood's low walkscore is it's overall design of cul-de-sac's attached to a busy main road. While cul-de-sacs are attractive due to the quiet, they also prevent pedestrian access to nearby streets.

 

 

 

A streetsblog blog post notes that "Atlanta-Sandy-Springs-Marietta, Georgia metro area ranks 11th in the country for most dangerous streets for pedestrians, according to Transportation for America’s recent report on pedestrian safety and street design."

 

In other words, was Ms. Nelson reckless or were she and her children victims of a neighborhood designed to be dangerous to pedestrians?

 

 

--end of article--

 

 

 

 

This article goes into a lot more detail than the original AJC article I read. It sounds to me like the city made some poor planning and development issues, and rather than admitting that and fixing them, they want to make this poor woman their scapegoat. :mad:

 

And the man that actually hit and killed the child gets six months?! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

 

 

 

Maybe, just maybe I can see charging the mom with endangering her kids by crossing there, but vehicular manslaughter doesn't make sense. Sounds like a horrible situation.

[Mom in High Heels]

This is ridiculous! How can she be charged with vehicular homicide when she was outside the car? So, she could be going to jail for 36 months because there was no safe place for her and her children to cross??? She should sue the city for endangerment.

 

And Casey Anthony goes free on Sunday. Our justice system as problems.

[Annie G]

I know where this is- and it makes me wonder why the bus doesn't stop near a crosswalk since the area is so unsafe for pedestrians.

 

How they can make those charges stick is totally unbelievable. That driver must have hired a good lawyer, that's all I can say.

[Unicorn.]

Wow! Just unbelievable. :(

[*Lulu*]

So she gets off a presumably city run bus, has her family hit by a repeat offender, and yet SHE is the one being charged?

 

If the city runs the buses, the city makes the choices on the bus stops, right? If it is so dangerous to cross there why did the city designate it a bus stop? Is there another stop closer to her apartment complex she could have elected to disembark at?

 

Why do I feel like the city is doing a vilification of the mother to avoid anyone looking too closely at the city's culpability in the situation.

[LauraGB]

I know where this is- and it makes me wonder why the bus doesn't stop near a crosswalk since the area is so unsafe for pedestrians.

 

How they can make those charges stick is totally unbelievable. That driver must have hired a good lawyer, that's all I can say.

 

I wonder if she can take public transit to court. What's a bus rider supposed to do once they get off the bus? The bus should only be stopping at crossable intersections; if the safest crosswalk is a half mile away, then the bus should stop a half mile away or the county should make sure the safe crosswalks are closer together (or don't run the busses out there).

 

I can see delving deeper into the situation and possibly citing her, t hough (jail time is completely pushing it, imo). There have been more than a few times when my heart has stopped while driving because of the whole "yield to peds" rule/attitude, and also with bikers who fly by/over/through without paying any attention whatsoever.

 

With the hit and run charge - is that including manslaughter?

[homeschooler2003]

The Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians

 

by Emmet Pierce

Thursday, July 14, 2011

 

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The four most dangerous places to walk in America are in Florida.

Transportation for America just released the 2011 edition of its "Dangerous by Design" report, which calculated the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) in metro areas around the country. Of course, cities where people walk more have more pedestrian deaths, so the index plots the number of pedestrians who die against the number of people who walk.

The result is very bad news for Sun Belt pedestrians.

 

Of the 20 most dangerous places to walk, only one -- Detroit -- is north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

The organization notes that the death rate per 100,000 population in the U.S. is 1.6, much higher than that in similarly wide-open countries such as Canada (1.1) and Australia (0.9). Much of the blame lies in the way cities -- especially those in the South -- have avoided the kind of infrastructure improvements that make streets safer for walking.

What kinds of streets are worst for pedestrians? The kinds every suburbanite has come to know very well: multiple lanes of high-speed traffic, lined with parking lots and drive-throughs, and short on sidewalks and crosswalks.

The group points out that the data, gathered from 2000 to 2009, show that senior citizens are especially vulnerable, dying at twice the rate of those under age 65.

Who Gets Hit by Cars?

About 12% of motor vehicle crash deaths each year involve pedestrians, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute.

If it seems that most of the pedestrians you observe taking risks in traffic are male, you are right, according to IIHS.

Pedestrians were almost always judged to be at fault in midblock and "intersection dash" accidents, in which pedestrians enter the path of traffic, according to a 2002 study of pedestrian deaths in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. People on foot were judged to be at fault 50% of the time compared to 39% for drivers.

Drivers are usually at fault in crashes where vehicles turned, backed up or went off the road.

Here's how to avoid getting hit by cars when you're walking:

*Wait and look. Always wait for the traffic signal to turn green before crossing the street, and even then, look around. "Every pedestrian who is hit by a car never saw the car coming," says Thomas J. Simeone, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents accident victims. "That's why they entered the roadway."

*Dress to be seen. The crosswalk may not be the right place to make a fashion statement, but the clothing you choose can make a difference to your safety, says Stephanie Schwartz, the owner of Roadrunner Traffic School in Arizona. "Pedestrians can always help ensure their own safety by wearing lighter colors," she says.

*Don't wander into the street while walking next to the road. Use sidewalks whenever possible. If there are no sidewalks, it's usually better to walk facing oncoming traffic. Also, stay away from freeways and restricted areas.

*Don't cross the road at a curve. Make sure you cross where approaching drivers can see you clearly.

*Try to make eye contact with drivers before stepping onto the highway. It's a mistake to assume that drivers always see you.

*Don't walk near traffic while tipsy. Alcohol and drugs can affect your ability to walk safely and make good judgments about traffic.

Dealing With Car Insurance Companies

If you are hit by a car while walking, you can file a car insurance claim against the driver. Just like a car-to-car accident, you want to try to get the driver's information at the scene of the accident and make a police report.

*Gather all evidence that supports your car insurance claim, including the names of witnesses. Then notify the driver's insurance company of your claim.

*If you have a no-fault auto insurance policy or are making a claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (for a hit-and-run accident, for example), you must submit the claim to your own car insurance company.

*If the driver's auto insurance isn't enough to compensate you, you can hire an attorney and take the matter to court. You're entitled to be "made whole" following an accident. That may include compensation for medical bills as well as pain and suffering, lost wages from work, emotional distress and property loss.

"People need to approach crossing a street as if their life depended on it, because it does," says David Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel for the American Insurance Association. "All too often we take day-to-day activities, although hazardous, lightly."

 

The Pedestrian Danger IndexRankMetro areaDeaths PDI 1Orlando-Kissimmee, FL5572552Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL9052133Jacksonville, FL3421784Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL1,5551685Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA9381396Las Vegas-Paradise, NV4211357Memphis, TN-MS-AR2661338Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ8671329Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX1,02412810Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX94211911Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA79811912Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI79911813Raleigh-Cary, NC16211714Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN20411015New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA30010716Birmingham-Hoover, AL13610417Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC20899.618Austin-Round Rock, TX23196.119Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN19295.720Richmond, VA16790.9

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I don't know about the case, but examiner.com is not exactly a reliable news source. After reading some of the other articles it seems more like the Enquirer. :glare:

 

The accident happened in April 2010. I wonder why examiner.com just published an article about it this month?

Edited July 15, 2011 by ThatCyndiGirl

[silliness7]

I didn't witness the accident. But I've seen a lot of stupid pedestrians and cyclists on the roads. It's completely plausible that he could not have avoided the pedestrians. It's wrong to run. But I'm not going to say he could have avoided hitting them. It's irrelevant to the situation that he had a previous hit and run. Still doesn't prove whether he could have avoided them. If he was drunk. That was wrong. However, the article doesn't say he was DUI just that he'd had something to drink earlier. So I don't know that you can go that route either.

 

I truly would think the person who took the 4 kids into traffic is to blame. If it had been a childcare worker with *my* child in tow I would definitely want some kind of justice handed down. HOWEVER, I am NOT a fan of parents being prosecuted who do something stupid and something accidentally happens to their child. I'm sure we've all done stupid things of one degree or another especially where driving is concerned. Are parents now prosecuted when they make a mistake driving that results in the death of their own child in their own car? I have heard of it if the child wasn't properly restrained but otherwise, I have not. But I am not that well read in current events. :001_smile:

 

So I think the Mom was at fault but should not have been prosecuted. Losing a child is punishment enough. At first I thought her jaywalking had caused an accident in which another motorist had died. I think that would warrant this kind of judgment.

 

I don't think it matters that the city planners did a stinky job of planning the city. If she was crossing at a crosswalk and the lights were not timed for her safety then yes, I think the city would be liable.

 

I'm a stickler for crosswalks no matter how inconvenient. It doesn't cost extra to walk further, just takes more energy. I feel sorry for the mom and don't think she should have been prosecuted. It was an unfortunate accident. I don't think people should be looking for another scapegoat.

 

Now, if dude was driving recklessly, that's a whole 'nother story. But the article didn't seem to suggest he did anything out of the ordinary BEFORE he hit the pedestrians but did say that the road was NOT safe to cross.

 

 

What?! :banghead:

 

 

I saw this yesterday, and I've been angry ever since. I live in GA and my yahoo page gives links to AJC articles. This one popped up BRIEFLY. Now the story seems dead. And I don't think it should be. So after a quick google, I came here to share and to vent.

 

 

 

-------

 

Marietta pedestrian convicted of vehicular manslaughter, while walking

 

 

 

How do you get convicted of vehicular manslaughter when you weren't even driving a car? By crossing a busy road in an unwalkable neighborhood of Marietta Georgia.

 

 

 

 

Raquel Nelson, Marietta, was convicted today of vehicular manslaughter in an incident where she and her children were struck by a repeat hit-and-run driver, Jerry L. Guy. She could be sentenced for up to 36 months in prison while Mr. Guy pled guilty to hit-and-run and served 6 months.

 

 

 

 

The incident occurred in early April 2010 when Ms. Nelson and her children were crossing Austell Road after disembarking from a bus across from the apartment complex where they lived. Jerry Guy struck Ms. Nelson and three of her four children, then fled the scene and was captured the next day.

 

 

 

 

In 1997 the same Jerry Guy also committed a hit-and-run accident, also on Austell Road, when he rear-ended one car, fled the scene, and then later ran into another car, and fled that scene on foot.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson's 4 year old son died of injuries at the hospital, both Ms. Nelson and her 2 year old daughter were injured, and her 9 year old daughter escaped injury.

 

 

 

 

Jerry Guy was originally charged with hit and run, first-degree homicide by vehicle, duty to report accident resulting in death or injury, and cruelty to children, but most of those were dropped leaving only the hit-and-run charge.

 

 

 

 

It would be easy to point the finger at either Jerry Guy or Raquel Nelson. Jerry Guy as a repeat hit-and-run offender certainly can't be receiving much sympathy here, especially after admitting to having had a "little" alcohol earlier.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Nelson, while she has suffered a huge loss, was crossing a busy road with three children in tow which one might consider reckless. But these two points of view leave out another.

 

 

 

 

Namely, that the incident occurred in an extremely unwalkable neighborhood that appears to be outright dangerous to pedestrians. The location is a four lane divided road, with only a concrete strip in the middle. News reports say the nearest crosswalks are a half mile away, confirmed using the streetview feature of Google Maps. Residents of Ms. Nelson's apartment complex have complained for years about the dangers of crossing at that spot.

 

 

 

 

The location of the incident is well away from the center of Marrietta, and the Walkscore of 25 for the neighborhood is extremely low and "car dependant". It's the sort of road where the only design consideration is the efficient movement of cars, no consideration was given to beauty or ease of use in other transportation modes.

 

 

 

 

Compounding the neighborhood's low walkscore is it's overall design of cul-de-sac's attached to a busy main road. While cul-de-sacs are attractive due to the quiet, they also prevent pedestrian access to nearby streets.

 

 

 

A streetsblog blog post notes that "Atlanta-Sandy-Springs-Marietta, Georgia metro area ranks 11th in the country for most dangerous streets for pedestrians, according to Transportation for America’s recent report on pedestrian safety and street design."

 

In other words, was Ms. Nelson reckless or were she and her children victims of a neighborhood designed to be dangerous to pedestrians?

 

 

--end of article--

 

 

 

 

This article goes into a lot more detail than the original AJC article I read. It sounds to me like the city made some poor planning and development issues, and rather than admitting that and fixing them, they want to make this poor woman their scapegoat. :mad:

 

And the man that actually hit and killed the child gets six months?! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

 

 

[Cinder]

Here's the link to the AJC article. Says pretty much the same as the article linked above.

 

ETA: Definitely a difficult situation for all involved. It reminds me of a recent incident near us where a teen driver was charged in his mother's death. Here's that article, which goes on to state:

 

But when someone breaks the law, even a traffic law, and someone else dies as a result, should authorities simply look the other way? Or should the matter at least be referred to a prosecutor for review, to make sure justice is served?

 

. . .

 

“Where do we differentiate? Where do you draw the line? In the matter of public opinion, there will always be people acting on gut emotion, and mine is no different than anybody's in the public," said Sgt. Dana Pierce.

 

Edited July 15, 2011 by Cinder

[silliness7]

Here's the link to the AJC article. Says pretty much the same as the article linked above.

 

ETA: Definitely a difficult situation for all involved. It reminds me of a recent incident near us where a teen driver was charged in his mother's death. Here's that article, which goes on to state:

 

 

:crying::crying::crying: That is very sad and I think it's ridiculous that the son was charged with anything.

[Mommy22alyns]

This is ridiculous! How can she be charged with vehicular homicide when she was outside the car? So, she could be going to jail for 36 months because there was no safe place for her and her children to cross??? She should sue the city for endangerment.

 

And Casey Anthony goes free on Sunday. Our justice system as problems.

 

 

:iagree: