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Driver that struck teen suing dead boy's family
Toronto Sun ^ | APRIL 25, 2014 | TRACY MCLAUGHLIN

Posted on 04/25/2014 2:01:28 PM PDT by rickmichaels

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To: Mr Rogers
Speeding 6 mph too fast would be considered blocking traffic where I live.

Some people think the "stop" sign panel on a school bus means "please, if it's no inconvenience."

The woman was driving 10 kilometers/hour over the speed limit on a rainy, misty night when she should have been driving 10 kilometers per hour under the speed limit.

As you note, the father said the bike had reflectors on the pedals and the seat. That's all any driver should need by way of warning, even in the middle of a foggy, rainy night.

61 posted on 04/25/2014 5:20:39 PM PDT by tsomer
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To: MuttTheHoople
THis is Canada. Probably in the Labour Party.

Labour Party??!! I think you might mean Liberal Party. At least here, the Libs call themselves what they are, not Democrats,

62 posted on 04/25/2014 5:56:57 PM PDT by Dartman (CDN PM Stephen Harper may not be perfect, but we don't have to be ashamed or embarassed of him.)
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To: dfwgator
Hopefully the Canadian legal system isn’t as whacked as ours.

I remember what happened to Mark Styen up in Canada. It may be even more whacked.

63 posted on 04/25/2014 6:19:35 PM PDT by Chesterbelloc
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To: Lurker
I think the parents are partly to blame. The kid should be asleep at 1:30am in the comfort of their home but he was out there with buddies biking around the busy street without flashing LEDs at front and back to make themselves visible to drivers.

As a responsible dad I'd not let my boy out there at past 11pm at night.

64 posted on 04/25/2014 7:12:58 PM PDT by hamboy
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To: tsomer

” The woman was driving 10 kilometers/hour over the speed limit on a rainy, misty night when she should have been driving 10 kilometers per hour under the speed limit.”

Oh my! 5 mph above the speed limit! Crucify her! On a rainy night, looking outside beats looking at the speedometer, and the road was straight (in a picture provided by another article).

“As you note, the father said the bike had reflectors on the pedals and the seat. That’s all any driver should need by way of warning, even in the middle of a foggy, rainy night.”

REALLY? On a road where the speed limit is 50 mph, and there is mist or rain, you think a reflector is enough for safety?

Someone riding a bike on a highway (50 mph speed limit) at 1:30 in the morning needs to take some precautions. Maybe the motorist swerved off the road and hit the cyclist. The again, maybe the cyclist was in the road and not paying attention. It seems to me there is ample fault to go around, and little value to suing anyone in civil court. If nothing criminal occurred, then give it a rest!


65 posted on 04/25/2014 7:51:48 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (I sooooo miss America!)
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To: rickmichaels
Why would someone do this, it seems horrid.

Maybe this tidbit in the last sentence will shed light:

Cameron has launched a routine lawsuit against the driver, mainly for medical and funeral costs on behalf of the boys and their families. He alleges Simon was speeding and may have been intoxicated and talking on her cell phone.

It appears they sued her first.

They have no evidence that she was drunk, or talking on her cell phone.

And what's with the foreign speed references? Oh yes, to make it seem like she was really speeding. 90, and 10 over the limit, sounds much worse than "She was doing 55mph in a 50 mph zone"

Interestingly, there are some places where bicycles are not allowed on any roads faster than 45mph, because of the danger.

And bikes are required to have lights if they are ridden after dusk.

66 posted on 04/25/2014 7:55:12 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: BenLurkin

Yes. The families had sued her already. It is in the last sentence of the article.


67 posted on 04/25/2014 7:58:18 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Mr Rogers

Well, the boys were riding bikes without lights the wrong way down a road, and ran head-on into her car. I could see a woman being traumatized by having killed a person, even if it wasn’t her fault.

And then they sued her for it. Was it her fault? The facts we have in evidence don’t suggest so, bikes with no lights in dark clothing driving toward you at 1am is not what you normally expect to see.

(now, I’m an advocate of people driving slower when they need to because you should be able to stop if there is an obstacle in the road, but not a moving vehicle without lights heading toward you in your lane).

I do think it seems cruel, but I don’t think it is illogical that the woman WOULD have long-term mental problems from an accident like this, and if it wasn’t her fault, she may need to sue to get her own liability coverage to cover the treatment. And of course, she might be upset that she is suffering because of their actions, and they are suing her.


68 posted on 04/25/2014 8:03:15 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Mr Rogers

A reflector under the seat doesn’t help when your bike is driving TOWARD the car. And often, your downward sloped foot hides the front reflectors on the pedals.

And really, on a 50-mph speed limit road, you think a car driving at 1:30am should see tiny reflections off pedals 6 inches from the ground driving TOWARD the car?

When I go out at night, I have a blinking red light on the back, a blinking blue light on MY back, reflectors front and back, yellow reflective tape on my helmet, and at least one 300-lumen light facing forward, although I recently got a nice 350-lumen light which I really like.


69 posted on 04/25/2014 8:08:35 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: VeniVidiVici
A couple of people have referred to this as suggesting that they left the scene. But it says "He pulled over when Brandon was struck, and shortly after both were allowed to go home"

I assume "allowed" means other cops on the scene interviewed them and then let them go.

I'm not sure why someone else called 911, maybe there were other cars on the road and someone else called while the police officer was checking on his wife to make sure she was OK. It seems though he might have called it in (have no idea whether off-duty canadian police have police radios with them).

70 posted on 04/25/2014 8:11:02 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Veto!
No, they were actually suing first: "A year ago, the Majewski family filed a separate claim against Simon, her husband and the County of Simcoe."

So they sued the driver, her husband for letting her drive, and the county for not maintaining lights on the road.

After a year of that, the woman counter-sued the families who were suing her, and the county.

And it looks like it is the insurance companies who are mostly suing, which could just mean it is an insurance liability issue.

71 posted on 04/25/2014 8:15:28 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: CharlesWayneCT
I am somewhat confused, as this article and another suggested the boys were riding toward the car when they were hit, but I found another article which says they were riding away from her when she hit them:

They were returning to their homes about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2012, riding abreast along the two-lane paved rural road, when they were hit from behind by Ms. Simon’s black SUV.
If they were hit from behind, they probably were not on the wrong side of the road, as the other articles suggested.

So I apologize for assuming as fact what apparently is just speculation on the part of the news organizations.

72 posted on 04/25/2014 8:18:50 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: CharlesWayneCT
More info from another article:
A roadside screening device was administered “out of an abundance for caution,” the report said, and registered “zero alcohol content in her blood system.”
So while a breathalizer was not used, some mechanical device was used. Don't know what they use in Canada.
73 posted on 04/25/2014 8:22:27 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: CharlesWayneCT
THe article here said the families had sued her "mainly for medical and funeral expenses", implying their suit was SMALL, and hers was huge.

In another article, I found the amount of their suit:

Mr. Majewski, Ms. Mlynczyk, their new partners and their children are also suing Mr. and Mrs. Simon and Simcoe County for a total of $900,000
So they were suing HER for $900,000, and she responded with a suit for $1.3 million. Seems comparable. They sued her first. In the article they try to blame her for the mental anguish that caused their other son to commit suicide. And she is suing them for the mental anguish of their boys causing an accident which traumatized her.

This article was certainly written to make us mad at her, and to sympathize with the boys and their parents.

74 posted on 04/25/2014 8:25:42 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: TexasFreeper2009
This sounds to be like the woman knew she was going to get sued by the families, and took the offensive in the hope of getting them to drop their potential suit against her. But it makes her look like an cruel moron.

Yep - not a new strategy or even odd these days. I have a friend who lost a leg when a truck driver ran a red light and creamed his motorcycle. The driver who ran the light sued my friend who lost the leg.

I don't blame the individuals for such nonsense - the lawyers saw opportunities for more billable hours.

75 posted on 04/26/2014 2:36:05 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: CharlesWayneCT
No, they were actually suing first: "A year ago, the Majewski family filed a separate claim against Simon, her husband and the County of Simcoe."

Thx. Perhaps I should put on my glasses before posting:)

76 posted on 04/26/2014 9:53:47 AM PDT by Veto! (OpInions freely dispensed as advice)
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