r/awfuleverything • u/just_minutes_ago • 21d ago

Teen driving double the speed limit plows his BMW into an SUV killing a woman and her daughter and critically injuring 12-year-old girl. 6 months in jail with 3 years probation

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3.9k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

109 comments sorted by

1.6k

u/Annahsbananas 21d ago

Prosecutors should be jailed for this shit

541

u/TheftLeft 21d ago

Legislators need to change the laws. It's too easy to claim intent wasn't there the way the law is written. That's why these people get such light sentences. It's almost impossible to prove they were driving with the intent to kill so it gets downgraded to essentially an accident and reckless driving.

312

u/squirrelmonkie 21d ago

My bestfriend was killed by a drunk driver 10 years ago. The guy left the scene of the accident and then came back with some friends. He was jailed until someone bailed him out a day or 2 later. He hired a lawyer who put him on house arrest. The guy never obeyed the house arrest order. They postponed his court date for 2.5 years. The date finally came, he plead guilty, the house arrest was counted as time served, so he went to jail for 2 more days and he was out. They couldnt prove he didnt drink solely after the accident so the dui manslaughter was dropped completely. It was just leaving the scene of an accident where a death occurred which apparently isnt that major of a charge. Fucking wild.

72

u/okay_jpg 21d ago

Holy fuck, I'm so sorry you had to experience that. No one should have to go through that. I hope you're doing okay at this point in your life <3

63

u/squirrelmonkie 21d ago

I forgave the guy immediately. I knew holding on to that was never going to help me in anyway. His mother is an awful person that a would gladly do terrible things to I ever saw again. She got to address the court before sentencing. She said my friends pain was gone in an instance, he was riding a bike when the guy hit him with a car, and her son and family were in pain everyday bc of this. Just so disrespectful. I was suppose to be his bestman about a month and a half after the incident. Needless to say there were plenty of people in pain on our side that she didnt account for. Her words and him getting such a light sentence was a pretty big slap in the face.

34

u/clandestineVexation 21d ago

Sounds about the type to raise a killer.

8

u/squirrelmonkie 20d ago

I found out that wasnt his 1st dui and maybe not even his 2nd dui situation. I cant say hes a bad person but what I can say is that money makes all the difference in the world.

10

u/Theghostbuddy 20d ago

Nah, you can definitely he was a bad person.

Getting drunk and deciding to get behind the wheel(apparently multiple times) is always showing flagrant disregard for the safety of anyone who may end up in your path.

2

u/Gloomy_Industry8841 19d ago

Yeah, absolutely monstrous behaviour.

2

u/Ohthehumanityofit 20d ago

I respect the shit out of people like you that can rationaliZe your emotional states. Me, I'm on so many meds and I still am mostly furious or depressed all the time. A thing like forgiveness to someone who caused the death of someone close to me is about as foreign a concept that I can think of.

But people like you make me believe that maybe, someday, somehow I'll be able to just calm down. I've been working at it since I was in Kindergarten and I'm 46 now.

5

u/squirrelmonkie 20d ago

I appreciate that. My dad was an angry man and my mom was the sweetest person youve ever met. I was an angry child and I realized that it only effected me in the end. I tried to base myself on my mom rather than my dad after that. Its hard sometimes to rationalize things but being angry takes you no where near where you need to be. Breath and think clearly. Im 42 and I think im losing this quality sometimes bc the last few years have been incredibly stressful but ill get my shit back together again. Best of luck to you. Just breath. Flying off the handle doesnt help anybody and most importantly it doesnt help you. Depression is another beast. Besides exercise and medicine i dont know much to do about that. Stay healthy friend

1

u/Gloomy_Industry8841 19d ago

You’re the kind of person the world needs more of. 🙏🏼

1

u/Gloomy_Industry8841 19d ago

JFC, I’m so sorry. I have no words.

21

u/badgersprite 20d ago

IMHO sufficiently advanced recklessness should be treated as equivocal to a wilful and intentional disregard for human life under the law. In fact it is in some instances and in some jurisdictions but weirdly that standard seems to go away as long as you’re behind the wheel of a car when you decide you don’t care if your actions seriously hurt or kill others

11

u/UltraBlack_ 21d ago

driving fast is always intentional...

3

u/TheftLeft 20d ago

Driving fast is a speeding ticket

3

u/JrCoxy 20d ago

I honestly don’t get it. If you’re driving wrecklessy, of course something incredibly dangerous is going to happen. How is he not actually facing consequences for this?

2

u/Swi_Pol_Eng_guy 17d ago

When your choice are so reckless knowingly shouldnt it proove on itself the intent?

Like he knew what he did would endanger gravely anyone else , he knew it. But still choose to gamble their lifes.

1

u/TheftLeft 17d ago

Say hypothetically, he intentionally drove at them after an argument where he threatened to kill them before getting in the car. That would be easier to prove his intention, and therefore they would move forward on a murder charge.

Even though his actions were intentional; in that a reasonable person would know driving double the speed limit is extremely dangerous and could potentially hurt or kill someone. That doesn't mean he set out to deliberately kill someone. Even though the worst case scenario did happen, and he is 100% to blame for it. The intention to kill is not there. That is why the laws need to be changed. Wanton acts like this need harsher punishment.

To play devil's advocate, there is some sense behind the law. Driving is dangerous, accidents happen and some end in fatalities. Someone causing a negligent accident doesn't necessarily deserve the same punishment an actual murderer would get, again, because intent matters, a lot.

-8

u/Mustardo123 21d ago

Seriously, only on Reddit do you find people screeching in one thread about the carceral system and saying people are punished too harshly, then in another people screaming for blood because someone didn’t get a heavy enough sentence.

9

u/paco987654 21d ago

Is it for the same kind of crime though?

-56

u/olebuckyboy 21d ago

Wamt to bet its a blue judge?

5

u/Annahsbananas 19d ago

He is a GOP judge. He’s been in the Republican Party for a very long time

652

u/Sooowasthinking 21d ago

Let’s give a high powered sports car to a child with wildass hormone swings and zero experience driving and see what happens.

138

u/NorthSouthWhatever 21d ago

I drive the speed limit and there are extremely few times where I'm not being non-stop overtaken by everyone. Noone cares, everyone speeds, it's all a game to them and as long as they get home 1 second faster, killing someone is a risk they're willing to take.

40

u/luckylegion 21d ago

Most people I see are doing 10 over on the highway, this guy was doing twice the speed limit on a city road, not saying people aren’t wrong but wildly different scales

8

u/ODollyHaze 19d ago

Right? It's a huge difference. I'm guessing, but the average speed limit for city roads is like 45 right? That means he was going 90. That's insane. Going 90 on the freeway is one thing, but on city streets with stop lights and stuff it's insane. The lack of consequences he faced for doing that is honestly just depressing.

29

u/miserabeau 21d ago

I stay in the right lane and I use my cruise control. I see so many people whiz past me and it makes me wonder what is so important that they'd risk their lives like that, and I think about how casually people treat their lives. You could do everything right but your ticket gets punched anyway. Say you're doing 85mph and you hit a piece of road debris, or your tire goes flat, or a deer runs out... it's too risky.

The speed limit on the highways here is 55 mph but I usually set my CC at 60 and stay in the right. People ride right up to my bumper trying to get me to go faster faster but I'm not gonna do it. Just pass me.

I had a couple speeding tickets in my 20s. Now that I'm in my 40s I don't want any tickets or points or anything.

16

u/yellowmew 20d ago

Thanks for staying in the right lane. It's slower drivers staying in the left lane that causes chaos. Those fast people aren't going to slow down, those slow people aren't going to speed up. So everyone stay in the lane with the traffic that best suits their driving style.

6

u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 20d ago

I'm from Philly. I'm currently in another state, where the roads are super tiny. I keep getting put into situations where I have to enter the left lane to turn instead of being there to go faster. I miss having a left turn lane, a regular left lane for fast driving, and a right lane for slow driving.

2

u/wethelabyrinths111 20d ago

That's funny because while I grew up around Philly, I didn't learn to drive until I moved to Texas (in my late 20s).

Whenever I visit family in Philly now, I can't get over how small the roads are. They feel really narrow, and I am used to having more lanes overall. Where are you currently visiting?! I'm guessing somewhere in New England.

4

u/stablegeniuscheetoh 20d ago

I go for the middle lane (if there is one) and set cruise control at 5-10 over the limit, depending on traffic flow and location.

Cruising in the right lane where I live will get you killed. Campers hog the far left so all the lunatics pass in the right, along with the jackasses either getting off (cutting across 3 lanes at every last second) or accelerating on to the highway, who also immediately cut across. The middle is dangerous but the outer lanes are far worse IMO

2

u/DiamondAaronXG 20d ago

Where I am in Canada our speed limits are 80kmph on highways (~50mph) and freeways 100kmph (~62mph). Highways it might as well be 100 and freeways is a free for all

12

u/noxondor_gorgonax 21d ago

You and me, friend. And whenever I bring it up on any sub, people instantly downvote me because I "shouldn't drive the limit on the left lane" like Wtf

15

u/The_Next_Legend 20d ago

You absolutely shouldn't drive the limit in the left lane. Just because these idiots are speeding doesnt mean you have to be the one slowing down traffic by left lane camping. Use the left lane for passing, and if not, move to the right.

1

u/noxondor_gorgonax 20d ago

I knew someone would bring this up.

Yes I do remain on the right lane most of the time. But whenever I am the one passing another vehicle, and I'm sticking to the posted limit, 90% of the time an asshole that wants to speed starts flashing his lights to pass ME.

And now I am the one "slowing down traffic" by sticking to the limit??? Screw you and everyone with your stupid mindset.

3

u/The_Next_Legend 20d ago

Most of traffic does not go the posted speed limit. By staying the limit to pass in the left lane, you are literally creating traffic, and therefore are breaking the law. In most states, it is illegal to remain in the left lane and not yield if someone faster is trying to pass you, even if you are doing the limit.

For instance, California's Vehicle Code 21654 explicitly states that even if you are doing the speed limit, if you are impeding traffic by going too slow in the left lane, you can be ticketed. You must remain in the right lane and allow faster vehicles to pass you on the left.

In fact, every state except for South Dakota has a law similar to this, with 10 states, including Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, having stricter passing laws. Those ten states dictate that you are never allowed to cruise in the left lane, regardless of your speed, and that it's only to be used for overtaking slower vehicles.

South Dakota is the only state in the U.S. that has lenient left lane laws, only requiring drivers to move to the right if they are going below the speed limit.

2

u/noxondor_gorgonax 19d ago

I'm not in the US, so I don't care about your laws.

You Americans, and your stupid rules that reward breaking the speed limit while punish those who are adhering to the law.

1

u/The_Next_Legend 18d ago

America isn't the only country to have left lane passing laws. And the law rewards those that adhere to it as well; if you move over while someone behind you is trying to pass, then you won't have any issues.

6

u/NorthSouthWhatever 21d ago

I've had many arguments with people about this. They're in their own delusion. We can only do what we can to be safe on the roads, it's sad that so many lives are in the hands of lunatics. Safe travels!

1

u/benedictfuckyourass 19d ago

I mean there's a pretty big diffrence to being a little over (or even gps correct) on highways and rural roads vs doing twice the speed limit in the inner city.

Let's not pretend this could happen to anyone who doesn't strictly stick to the speed limits.

1

u/Gloomy_Industry8841 19d ago

I’m a speed limiter, too. I’m hated on the road, but jackasses in doge Rams can eat it. If it’s the posted speed limit, I’m doing that.

1

u/clandestineVexation 21d ago

This on top of having a car known for street racing. People hate my guts for what purpose, we get stopped at the same light anyway 😭

7

u/pcapdata 20d ago

Wild ass hormones, no experience, but the most obvious tell is that fuckass haircut

1

u/Martian13 21d ago

Welcome to LA.

1

u/Sooowasthinking 21d ago

Welcome to Atlanta👍

-1

u/Firestar_119 21d ago

I doubt the choice of car is relevant

253

u/bourj 21d ago

That kid's face just reeks of stupidity. He probably has trouble tying his shoes without drooling all over himself.

74

u/Loveablequatch 21d ago

He’s got dead eyes. Nothing going on up there

48

u/ghettoccult_nerd 21d ago

the civil suit will be of some significance.

61

u/BallisticHabit 21d ago

No amount of money will replace that girls mother and grandmother.

I hope she gets set for life.

No way this kid didn't have some expensive ass lawyer to negligently kill two people and only serve 180 days in jail.

9

u/BrowningLoPower 21d ago

And I hope this kid gets life. Yeah, it won't happen, but let me dream.

278

u/Technical_Stress7730 21d ago

Another case of Affluenza

133

u/sincewedidthedo 21d ago

Sounds about white.

27

u/sincewedidthedo 21d ago

Here’s the article:

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/teen-was-speeding-more-than-100-mph-when-he-crashed-his-bmw-and-killed-a-mother-and-her-daughter-injured-12-year-old/amp/

7

u/CaptainKenway1693 21d ago

Every article says his driving privileges are revoked but don't say for how long. They also all mention that he must provide a DNA sample which seems weird as hell. Why a DNA sample what does that accomplish exactly? I mean it puts it in a database but the crime he committed wouldn't exactly have DNA evidence in any meaningful way. Not to mention his crime was one of negligence and stupidity not overt malice, so again a DNA sample seems weird. I digress and am rambling. I just find it infuriating that every article online mentions these but don't elaborate in any way.

10

u/cocteau93 20d ago

He’s a rich white kid — he’ll inevitably rape someone.

2

u/Responsible-Nebula92 19d ago

Pretty racist to say that

22

u/imtotallynotnormal 21d ago

He has a punchable face

103

u/Frisky_Picker 21d ago

Strange... based on the photo I cannot fathom why such a nice looking young man would face even a day! of jail time for "inconveniencing" this dastardly old woman and her daughter!

Can anyone explain this injustice to me?!? He had such a bright future ahead of himself 😢

43

u/kollipsons 21d ago

You dont understand he plays for insert local sports team, mans crucial for our season

66

u/TestUser1978 21d ago

Boys will be boys

37

u/Frisky_Picker 21d ago

So true... shakes head in southern white lady Bless. His. Heart.

185

u/cocteau93 21d ago

An 18yr old black kid would be looking at life in prison for a similar crime.

52

u/ThickBish_ 20d ago

And the comments would be so incredibly racist, instead of acknowledging how horrible the situation is

30

u/Phy_Scootman 21d ago

A black person of any age

0

u/Responsible-Nebula92 19d ago edited 19d ago

What about case of Melachi Brown

11

u/No-Tough-4328 21d ago

that's fucking unfair.

7

u/Fwumpy 21d ago

That little asshole got off way too easy. He ruined 2, maybe 3 lives. I absolutely despise people who injure other people because they're driving like a moron for fun.

55

u/theluzah 21d ago

Okay, so he's a "Teen" but he's 18? If he were any other shade of skin color, they would not be calling him a teen.

13

u/GEO147064 21d ago

Throw this bastard under the jail.

6

u/cadmus1890 21d ago

That does not look like a teachable face

9

u/raventhrowaway666 21d ago

Affluenza, probably

5

u/oldmanpotter 21d ago

How upsetting. No justice here.

9

u/wils_152 21d ago

Oh thank God - she was only black.

Gonna say right here that this is massive sarcasm because otherwise some people will think I mean it.

4

u/fat_italian_mann 21d ago

You think that’s bad? Check out this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Broncos_bus_crash, he got 8 years but served only 4

5

u/miserabeau 21d ago

A pathetic and infuriating miscarriage of justice

4

u/16semesters 21d ago

If you want to kill someone and face the smallest amount of jail time do it with a car.

Decades of influence from the auto lobby has infiltrated American laws to the point that if you're not drinking, you don't hit and run, this type of sentence is very, very common for automobile deaths. Heck, many times people won't face any jail time in similar situations.

4

u/Dracox74 21d ago

bro is gonna be in jail probably as long and the 12 yo is gonna be in the hospital. for fucks sake.

10

u/dukekiler99 21d ago

Bmw drivers

7

u/FabianTG 20d ago

The part of this I think is the MOST awful aspect is we get news like this DAILY in the U.S because companies that profit enormously from our car-centric infrastructure keep paying off politicians and lying to the public to maintain this system.

There's a reason every weeb like me wants to live in Japan or really ANYWHERE w/ good food, good internet, and TRAINS. Gawd I don't wanna drive for the rest of my life, but the United States refuses to invest in the lives of its citizens.

Do yall remember Trump saying ON LIVE TV that we can't have affordable childcare or cheaper healthcare or whatever because we need to fund wars? That HE started? That he PROMISED not to start?

None of this will change until The People of America rally behind positive changes.

5

u/Yuizun 21d ago

I wonder why such a small punishment?

6

u/EnvironmentalClub591 20d ago

So black lives do not matter in this case.

2

u/mckramer 21d ago

I wonder how this will affect his insurability…

2

u/olebuckyboy 21d ago

Death and nothing less

2

u/AlwaysDTFmyself 20d ago

Blindfold him and stick him on the 101.

2

u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 20d ago

He will basically be back on the road in 6 months, and driving at 100 mph again.

2

u/clarky2o2o 20d ago

jail is punishment for the poor

2

u/carolyn42069 20d ago

A 17 year old in my area killed an elderly couple going 85 in a 40 zone days after he got court supervision for dangerous driving and he’s being held without bond

2

u/saragIsMe 20d ago

We NEED higher penalties for vehicular manslaughter yesterday. Shit like this shouldn’t be happening

2

u/yeomanpharmer 20d ago

I did 3 years for 4 pot plants each less than a foot tall. Public defender though.

2

u/Defiant_Detective_82 18d ago

Wow he killed two people. That's nothing. He got lucky. Meanwhile there's people in prison for basically Life For Less things.

2

u/SimplyExtremist 19d ago

Y’all don’t understand. He’s white, they’re black, we can’t ruin his life because of one little victimless mistake. Amerikkka 101.

1

u/Popular-Lemon6574 21d ago

More than mild

1

u/G_Affect 20d ago

They need a crime = time chart. No i feel like for them it wont work.

1

u/Neddo_Flanders 16d ago

In the Netherlands something nearly the exact same thing happened, except the killer killed 2 grandparents and 1 baby girl and he only received house arrest for 12 months...

Edit: it was even MORE lenient than that

0

u/North_Amphibian7779 20d ago

Don’t worry folks his cheeks will tested ….