Drunk driver hits pedestrian; victim's mother faces homicide charges

[rambone]

A mother was walking her children across the street when a drunk driver struck and killed one of them; 4 years old. Now the mother has been charged with homicide and could face more time in prison than the drunk driver. The mother apparently was jaywalking.


Mother Raquel Nelson faces jail for killing her son, four, after they crossed road in the wrong place - and he died in a hit-and-run

Raquel Nelson, 30, could now spend more time in jail than the driver because she didn't use a crosswalk when she walked her three children over a busy street in Marietta, Georgia.

 

[Gabriel]

There are crosswalks for a reason.

 

[a.bentonab]

The linked article is pretty skimpy on details. I am no lawyer, but I think that it would be pretty important to establish why the accident happened. Did the accident happen because the driver was drunk or did the accident happen because they crossed at an unsafe place? I don't see much evidence either way. The only snippet is that the article says the boy darted out into the street, which leads me to believe that maybe even a sober driver would have had the same outcome.

 

[rjstew317]

With two previous hit and run accidents why was this guy behind the wheel and not behind bars!

 

[printcraft]

With two previous hit and run accidents why was this guy behind the wheel and not behind bars!

Guy was released in October after spending six months in prison.
He confessed to having had 'a little' alcohol in the day, said he was on pain medication and was partially blind in one eye.

<------- actual photo of the suspect.


WTF over.

They convicted the mom with homicide by vehicle........ she was standing on the side of the road.........

​

 

[eldirector]

Saw that on the "news" this morning. All kinds of screwed up. Not the best idea to be crossing a busy street in the dark, and not the best idea to be drunk, on meds, partially blind and driving in the dark.

Like getting hit, having 2 of 3 kids getting hit, and one of them dying isn't punishment enough for jaywalking.

 

[darkkevin]

With two previous hit and run accidents why was this guy behind the wheel and not behind bars!

oh, rest assured he's out driving right now as we have this conversation, probably drunk too.

 

[Dogman]

With two previous hit and run accidents why was this guy behind the wheel and not behind bars!

Because the court system in America is a joke. Since a lot of people have driven after drinking there is still a mindset that drunk driving isn't all that bad. ie: I've done it and I'm not a bad person, I'm not a criminal, he/she didn't set out to injury or kill someone, it was an accident.
People want to rant and yell about one pound guns killing people, but it's ok for some drunk to get into a three thousand pound vehicle and kill someone.

Just saying.

 

[Westside]

well I think everything has been covered but I will chime in anyway.

1) not smart to cross a busy street in the middle of the night at a spot other than a crosswalk.
2) with 2 DWI's why was this guy behind the wheel.
3) how is she being charged with vehicular homicide and not child neglect resulting in death when she wasn't driving.
4)there is so much wrong with this it is hard to believe.

 

[rjstew317]

ridiculous!!! I don't know what else can be said...........

 

[rambone]

Like getting hit, having 2 of 3 kids getting hit, and one of them dying isn't punishment enough for jaywalking.

I consider that argument in many parent/child cases. If the child's death was truly an accident, how is imprisoning the parent going to be worse than the guilt/grief that they already face?

Charges on the mother won't bring the kid back and it won't teach her any further lesson. She wasn't behind that wheel and she didn't set out to kill her kid. Its just a tragic story with a screwed up government reaction.

 

[RockofStrength]

How can the mother be blamed? Even if a pedestrian is jaywalking vehicles are to yield the right-of-way to them.

 

[96firephoenix]

wow. this country's legal system gets more effed up by the day.

 

[Denny347]

Unless the mom THREW her kid into the street. Wow, I could NEVER in good conscious charge mom with ANYTHING. She just lost her kid and I am sure blames herself. Is that not enough? Geez.

 

[Kase]

There are crosswalks for a reason.

There are speed limits for a reason, stop signs for a reason, no smoking signs for a reason, etc......

If you follow every rule exactly, every day, then you sir are a better man than most

 

[UncleMike]

Because the court system in America is a joke. Since a lot of people have driven after drinking there is still a mindset that drunk driving isn't all that bad. ie: I've done it and I'm not a bad person, I'm not a criminal, he/she didn't set out to injury or kill someone, it was an accident.
People want to rant and yell about one pound guns killing people, but it's ok for some drunk to get into a three thousand pound vehicle and kill someone.

Just saying.

Yup!!