Posted on 01/25/2011 1:12:12 AM PST by buccaneer81
DeWine's assistance not enough for bicyclist who collided with car Monday, January 24, 2011 11:29 PM By Alan Johnson The Columbus Dispatch
In Mike DeWine's first week as Ohio attorney general, his car collided with a bicyclist Downtown - and he ended up having the man taken on a 100-mile round trip to be treated by the officeholder's personal physician.
Jonathan Kirk, 28, a dishwasher at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, wasn't seriously injured, but he was shaken up in the Jan. 13 morning accident.
According to a Columbus police report, confirmed by accounts from DeWine and Kirk, Kirk rode his bicycle against a red light at Front and Main streets. He was knocked to the pavement by a 2008 Chrysler 300 in which DeWine was a passenger. A DeWine staff member, Robert Lagergren, was driving DeWine's personal car.
Kirk, who said he has no insurance because he can't afford it, didn't want to go to a hospital emergency room and left the scene to make a scheduled appointment with his parole officer. Story continues below Advertisement
However, DeWine tracked him down and insisted that he see a doctor.
The attorney general had a staff member, Ann O'Donnell, drive Kirk to Jamestown, Ohio, about 30 miles southeast of Dayton, to see DeWine's physician, Dr. Kevin Sherrett, who is also the Greene County coroner.
"He's my personal doctor, and he's extremely thorough," DeWine said. "I thought it would be the fastest way. I called him up, told his office it was an emergency, and he said to bring him over, he would fit him in."
The doctor did not charge for the visit, but DeWine said he asked to be billed for the cost of X-rays.
Kirk told The Dispatch that he doesn't know the results of an X-ray taken at Sherrett's office because he doesn't have a home phone and his cell phone was crushed in the accident.
"When I got up (the day after the accident), I wasn't able to make it to work. I was so sore," Kirk said. He said his right ankle and foot were injured.
O'Donnell said she gave Kirk $70 in cash to make up for missing a day's work and bought him lunch.
The next day, Kirk called the attorney general's office seeking payment for missing a second day's work and reimbursement for his cell phone. He suggested he might go to the news media with his story, she said.
At that point, DeWine conferred with attorneys in his office and decided to provide no more help to Kirk.
"They did do a good thing," Kirk said of DeWine's help. "But it's not like I'm asking for a whole lot. I'm just asking for $80 and a new phone."
ajohnson@dispatch.com
see #80
You would be saying the opposite....
Only by those who are logically inconsistent. Personally, I don't care who the blackmail victim is. It could be Obama, and I'd still side with him.
Blackmail is blackmail, regardless of the perpetrators occupation, the dollar amount 'suggested', or the victim's identity.
OK ...we got Laz on blackmail. Like Floyd on Fish
Dude, you okay over there?? Seriously.......
I have never been blackmailed...don’t have much to say about it
You don't?
I see a whole slew of posts above this one, all about your say, about blackmail.
Seriously, man, you aren't making a lot of sense alla sudden. You alright?
If that’s true, won’t the court case get tossed out?
If you need someone to talk to about anything, please freepmail me.
Leni
There’s a difference between yanking peoples chains and obstinate stupidity. Dennis crossed the line in his first post on the thread. And , frankly, he makes FR look bad with his continued posting of garbage on the thread.
What court case? There's no mention of this incident heading for court.
I have my issues with Mike DeWine. But your assertions make no sense at all.
DeWine was obligated to nothing after the accident. DeWine committed a good act by ensuring the man who caused the accident was checked out medically and did not lose pay for a day's work while being checked out. DeWine was obligated to nothing from the beginning and certainly not obligated in the aftermath of his own good act.
Attaching blame to your grudge against DeWine is silly and immature. And certainly not what one would call logic or clear thinking. More akin to emotional arguments that I'd expect to see on MSNBC.
I’ve been reading this whole argument and this whole thread and man you haven’t got a clue. You aren’t the bike rider are you?
You sure don’t understand that when someone tries to blackmail you, no matter how small the amount, it is still illegal and giving in and paying that person (a known felon in this case) would only reinforce the illegal behavior. It would also, in effect, be admitting fault on DeWine’s part. Something I am sure his lawyer didn’t want his client to do.
You really are lost in this discussion. You are siding with someone who caused an accident and tried to gain from it financially. Why should anyone reward this crook for his behavior?
Another example of a fundamental truth...you cannot do a favor for a fool.
Since you feel that way I am sure you would advise Mike DeWine to see that that this uppity dishwasher/bicyclist is prosecuted.
14 hours of sheer stupidity worthy of DU on this thread, Dennis. Good job on throwing away a 12 year good reputation.
Maybe so, but, its quite apparent that you don’t understand blackmail. It probably wouldn’t have stopped there. What next? A new bicycle? DeWine went out of his way to help the young man. He didn’t have to since he wasn’t at fault.
Some on here are truly sickening in the way they think.
How very conservative of you...
The Law is the law.
The biker was at fault and is entitled to nothing from DeWine.
Now besides a several traffic infractions:
Failure to yeild
Failure to report
Leaving the scene of an accident...
We can add on threats of extortion...
DeWine was not operating the vehicle, even if it was the vehicle drivers fault, there is no way DeWine has any legal responsibility for anything.
Who was driving the vehicle? If he hired a driver he knew was unsafe, then he would have responsibility. I’m not claiming he did, just responding to your assertion.
Grasping for straws...
Cyclist ran a red light, got hit (at least according to article).. Nothing in article suggests he was being limoed or cheauffered by a hired driver.
End of the day, nothing in this article suggest DeWine has any responsiblity for this at all.. seems like a no good deed goes unpunished sort of story.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.