6-year-old dies when car hits her, charges may not be laid

[dpareja]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/addison-hall-6-dies-after-car-crashes-into-london-ont-costco-1.2719516

A six-year-old girl who was hit by a car that crashed through the front of a Costco store in London, Ont., has died in hospital, police said Sunday.

...

The girl's pregnant mother and three-year-old sister were also struck when the driver of a red Monte Carlo reversed through the front entrance of the store around noon on Friday.

Danah McKinnon Bozek was rushed to hospital and underwent an emergency C-section. Her condition was upgraded to fair on Sunday.

Police say the newborn, along with the woman's three-year-old daughter, Miah Bozek, remain in critical condition.

...

The London Free Press says the car was driven by a woman in her 60s.

Police are still trying to determine whether charges will be laid.

Why have we as a society decided that killing someone while driving is somehow lesser than killing someone while doing another activity (unless it's sports, go look up Bill Masterton)?

[Sigmaleph]

Perhaps they are trying to determine if it was an accident/malfunction/whatever else? I don't know.

A death while driving is no lesser than any other death, but not every death merits laying charges, either. Without knowing more about the case it's hard to say why they are still trying to decide whether to press charges.

[Ultimate Paragon]

Perhaps they are trying to determine if it was an accident/malfunction/whatever else? I don't know.

A death while driving is no lesser than any other death, but not every death merits laying charges, either. Without knowing more about the case it's hard to say why they are still trying to decide whether to press charges.

Pretty much.

[MadCatTLX]

Man, I had a post all typed up before you all ninja'd me. Yeah, I'll assume until proven otherwise that this is a horrible accident or mechanical malfunction in the car. I'm either case I don't see how charging the driver would help anything. If the driver was drunk, then by all means, press charges. But there aren't a lot of people driving drunk at noon.

Shame there's people driving drunk any time...

[Sleepy]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

[dpareja]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

If it's that, then at the very least she can be charged with driving without due care and attention, and if she had a physician sign off on papers stating that she was fit to drive (particularly if it was recent), that doctor should be charged with, at minimum, criminal negligence causing death.

[chitoryu12]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

If it's that, then at the very least she can be charged with driving without due care and attention, and if she had a physician sign off on papers stating that she was fit to drive (particularly if it was recent), that doctor should be charged with, at minimum, criminal negligence causing death.

Right now, you're having a knee-jerk reaction to a child's death. You're begging for something, anything, to be done so "justice can be served."

Sometimes, nobody's at fault. Nobody should be punished. Shit happens, and you can't always just lay the blame at an individual's feet so you have someone to blame.

[Sylvana]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

If it's that, then at the very least she can be charged with driving without due care and attention, and if she had a physician sign off on papers stating that she was fit to drive (particularly if it was recent), that doctor should be charged with, at minimum, criminal negligence causing death.

Or, a 60 year old woman accidentally put her car in reverse instead of drive, and the acceleration backwards pushed her foot into the peddle more causing her to reverse faster, and the shock and surprise confused her to a degree that she couldn't hit the breaks fast enough. Accidents happen, a lot.

This is most likely a run of the mill tragedy. This woman will no doubt live the remainder of her life filled with regret, but most likely charges would not remedy anything.

[Yla]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

If it's that, then at the very least she can be charged with driving without due care and attention, and if she had a physician sign off on papers stating that she was fit to drive (particularly if it was recent), that doctor should be charged with, at minimum, criminal negligence causing death.

Do you, personally, carry around papers from your doctor stating that you will never, ever, suffer a stroke?

[dpareja]

The article doesn't say anything about the driver's condition at the time of the accident, so she could've had some sort of medical condition that left her unconscious and with no control of the vehicle. I'd say that's more likely than anything malicious or something accidental due to bad vision.

If it's that, then at the very least she can be charged with driving without due care and attention, and if she had a physician sign off on papers stating that she was fit to drive (particularly if it was recent), that doctor should be charged with, at minimum, criminal negligence causing death.

Right now, you're having a knee-jerk reaction to a child's death. You're begging for something, anything, to be done so "justice can be served."

Sometimes, nobody's at fault. Nobody should be punished. Shit happens, and you can't always just lay the blame at an individual's feet so you have someone to blame.

Thank you.

[Barbarella]

Likely an accident. A terrible tragedy. No need for anger, just sadness at the passing of a child. If the 60 year old woman was drunk, however, I'm sure charges will be issued.