very sad.
Awful. : (
So terrible. The photographs of the scene were horrific.
To be so drunk that you don’t even realize that you’ve hit the motorcycle, and continue forward, hitting dozens of people?!?! I am sure we are going to hear about the circumstances surrounding how this young woman came to be so intoxicated so early in the day, who was with her, and how it came to be that she got into that car in that condition. Just sick.
Not that it changes the tragedy, but I would so prefer to find out she had a medical issue rather than it being alcohol or drug intoxication.
I just saw this on TV. That driver needs to stay in prison for as long as the law allows.
Her attorney is blaming mental illness…
If she is insane and a danger to others, there are places where folks like that can be locked up and isolated from the society…
My daughter and her husband graduated from there as did I. They still live there. Seeing the scenes of the intersection that I have driven through so many times was unreal in the most awful way. One of my daughter’s close friends was right there in a parking lot by the intersection & saw it happen. Her and her husband and baby were just up the road. My coworkers sons friend had 2 broken legs & other injuries and was lifeflighted out.
My son is visiting us from SC and we went to my daughter’s for dinner tonight. They had heard the driver was told to leave work that morning because she appeared to be under the influence of drugs. I just read that She will be charged with 2nd degree murder.
Charged with 4 counts of second degree murder.
Good.
I’ll be interested to hear the results of the tox screen. The driver was at work that morning, but (supposedly) was sent home because she was thought to be under the influence of some drug. It was homecoming. I wonder if she took some street drug whose effects she didn’t understand.
What was interesting was what the co-worker didn’t say. She didn’t say something like, “Oh, she was drunk again so she got sent home.” According to the co-worker, the driver was typically responsible and dependable.
If the woman was determined to be unfit to work because she was under the influence of drugs, it’s very puzzling why the manager would feel she was fit to drive herself home. I’m confused as to why they wouldn’t either call someone to come get her, or call a cab, or have someone take her to the hospital, or call an ambulance.
If this turns out to be true, I’m betting that franchise finds itself in the middle of the legal fray.
If it turns out that it was medication, rather than alcohol, or if indeed it’s a mental problem, then the murder charges are excessive. We should not permit prosecutors to jump to conclusions.
My son attends OSU and it was indeed horrific and senseless. He had several friends who were standing almost exactly where the car crashed and there are many kids who need our prayers today.
BTW, a large majority of DWI offenders are high on prescription medications. They will take a combination of xanex hydrocodone etc. It depresses their reflexes exactly like alcohol does and in some cases it is worse as they may have an additive effect. I know of so many Intoxication manslaughters where the intoxicant was drugs not alcohol.
@woodlandsmom, yes, when we hear DUI, we tend to think of alcohol, but it simply means being under the influence of some kind of mind/body altering substance. This certainly could be about drug use, and not necessarily illegal drugs.
I’m also waiting to hear if there is documented mental illness in addition to or instead of a positive tox screen.
This is very disturbing:
http://www.whdh.com/story/30346495/the-latest-da-says-oklahoma-parade-deaths-seem-intentional
It sound kind of like the premise of a recent Stephen King novel (Mr. Mercedes, I believe) which begins with a man deliberately plowing his car into a crowd of people, killing a number of them.
Perhaps she had a psychotic break – voices telling her to do this, etc.
I think this maybe a legit case of unchecked mental illness. (not because her attorney said it)
one of the problems that our country must address is mental illness. people with mental illness no matter what the cause or what the diagnosis can not just toughen up, grow up or snap out of it.