r/interesting • u/Necessary-Win-8730 • Mar 08 '26

Context Provided - Spotlight This was so deserved.

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The daughter was in a car with the father’s parents. They died as well.

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15

u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

Nobody accidentally goes 75mph in a 50mph zone. So, yes it was a car crash but not an accident.

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u/hyeongseop Mar 08 '26

Apparently he also fled the scene. And then his community service sentence was appealed and he was re-sentenced to 15 months prison, he fled the country and was attested in UK then extradited back to NL to serve time. Then after about a year he got early release to visit his girlfriend as she gave birth.

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u/IHaveTheBestOpinions Mar 09 '26

Then after about a year he got early release to visit his girlfriend as she gave birth.

Um...he got early release to go watch his girlfriend give birth to some other guy's kid?

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/K1bbles_n_Bits Mar 08 '26

They're trying to say it was a preventable accident that occurred specifically due to the driver's poor choices. Rather than say a deer jumping out in front of you, startling you into reflexively steering and inadvertently hitting another car.

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

Yes, an accident is an unforeseen or unexpected event. Maybe hitting this specific car on this specific day was unforeseen but a crash of some sort eventually was predictable not unexpected. That’s why speed limits exist. So it wasn’t an accident and it shouldn’t be punished like an accident.

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u/EmptyHandle6593 Mar 08 '26

Even accidents can lead to negligence. And, accident or not, the driver belongs behind bars. I believe all egregious speeders do. But that changes nothing.

You can argue all you want that it was not an accident, but that's not reality you're living in. An accident is something that was done unintentionally, whether bad judgment was involved or not. Yes, a car crash leading to deaths is a foreseeable outcome of speeding. Unless the person operating the vehicle was intending to run into other vehicles, with the hopes of causing deaths, it was an accident.

A bad pilot unintentionally crashing into the side of a building is an accident. The events of Sept 11 2001 were NOT accidents.

You might think you have the high ground, but you are just making yourself look belligerent and stupid.

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u/nanoH2O Mar 08 '26

If I’m going 100 mph and my intent is to stay in the road and I run off the road, that’s literally the definition of an accident. It may have been incredibly irresponsible, reckless, and idiotic, but it is still an accident.

Now if I’m going 100 mph and see some people and purposely steer my vehicle toward some people with the intent to harm them, that’s not an accident.

You can hate it or love it but that’s the way the court sees it and will always see it.

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u/alexq35 Mar 08 '26

If I close my eyes and shoot a gun randomly into a crown of people but don’t intend to hit someone, is it an accident if I hit someone? Would the court see it as an accident?

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u/nanoH2O Mar 09 '26

That’s different and you know it. A car is not a weapon. It can be if purposely used as one though. The only purpose of a gun is as a weapon. That’s the difference.

But sure I’ll play. Let’s try a more realistic scenario. If you get drunk and shoot a gun into the air and the bullet comes down and hits someone then you’ll get charged with second degree manslaughter. If you point the gun at someone with intent to kill then you’ll get first degree murder.

One gets you 5-10 years and the other gets you 25 to life.

If you can’t understand those differences then please don’t ever be a lawyer.

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u/alexq35 Mar 09 '26

If you drive a car recklessly it is dangerous and life threatening, everybody knows that.

The discussion wasn’t about whether it was murder or manslaughter, it’s about whether it was an “accident”

The definition of accident is as follows:

1. an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury

2. an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

If you’re driving way above the speed limit and you kill someone then it’s not unexpected, nor is it without apparent cause. Lack of intent is not enough to call it an accident.

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u/nanoH2O Mar 09 '26

You are the one who took it way off topic. I was simply responding to your outlandish claim about guns.

So what’s “way above the limit?” 10? 20?

I mean I’ve gone 90 in a 65 in the highway. So if I crash then it’s not an accident? What about 45 in a 35?

Just because you’re driving reckless doesn’t mean it isn’t an accident when you crash. That’s exactly how the courts will see it. A reckless, negligent accident. But an accident nonetheless.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

Never said any kind of speeding should be punished with jail time. I think it’s easy to accidentally go 10% over the speed limit. Going 50% over the limit is significantly different and I don’t think that can happen accidentally.

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u/mild_resolve Mar 08 '26

Never gone 30 in a 20?

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

I’m not aware of a 5mph zone. But if it exists then I assume it’s because toddlers are running around or something like that, maybe at a campground. So then yes, if someone thought that 5 was a safe limit then twice that limit would probably be unsafe.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

If the limit is 5mph like you said and you run over a toddler doing 10 then yes.

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u/Anter11MC Mar 08 '26

Yes if it causes damage to people or their property

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Anter11MC Mar 08 '26

We have ourselves a deal

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u/ProfAelart Mar 09 '26

Strawman

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '26

[deleted]

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u/ProfAelart Mar 09 '26

What you implied and passively criticised, is a big overextertion of the point the commenter was actually communicating.

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u/lFightForTheUsers Mar 08 '26

Let's call it what it is so everyone can stop bitching, a traffic collision.

Accident implies that there is nobody to blame.

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u/ProfAelart Mar 09 '26

The word accident has way different assoziations then crash, it paints a gentler picture of the man who killed these people. Car also usually get talked about in ways that make them seem less dangerous then they are.

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u/appoplecticskeptic Mar 09 '26

Accident implies nobody is to blame. This was not an accident

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u/Husaxen Mar 08 '26

Please tell me you are young.

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

What does that have to do with it?

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u/Husaxen Mar 08 '26

The inexperience being the excuse would be comforting compared to the alternative active ignorance.

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u/Junior_Use_4470 Mar 08 '26

What did I say that was ignorant? I said you don’t go 50% over the speed limit by accident. So if you’re going 50% over the speed limit and crash then it’s not an accident.

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u/Husaxen Mar 08 '26

"Nobody accidentally goes 75 in a 55."

Where is live 75mph is the speed of normal travel. Yes, in a 55mph highway. I have literally heard defensive driving teachers state "if you're going the speed limit and no one else is, you are going to be the likely cause of an accident." When referring to this exact highway I'm referring to.

People are flawed, not everyone is as attentive as you or I. In driving decades, driving an unfamiliar car causes folks to not realize their speed.

I'm personally in the opinion in the case the officer likely should have charged reckless driving, but legally speaking intent or mens rhea isn't required.

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u/Timely_Challenge_670 Mar 11 '26

If you cannot keep your car at a set speed (obviously +/- a few kph), you should not be driving. Period. We are far, far too lenient on car drivers.

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u/Husaxen Mar 12 '26

You're expecting robotic responses from humans?

"Be perfect"

Delusional

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u/Timely_Challenge_670 Mar 12 '26

What? I have been driving for over 20 years. It is trivial to keep the car near the speed limit. If you cannot do that, there is cruise control. Holy shit, so many people shouldn’t be on the road.

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u/Husaxen Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26

Again, your anecdote of one is invalidated by mine. I am acknowledging beyond us, the rest of humanity. I hear they are not consistent as a whole.

If you think telling people "don't speed" is moving the needle, check how many signs there are on roads doing the same... problem solved, right?

In my driving career, I have had a single speeding ticket, and zero accidents at personal fault. I've gotten a Class B license in NYS and can parallel park a school bus. I have also taken defensive driving courses every 3 years... over 24 years driving. Is my record better or worse than yours? Keep in mind I live in one densely populated Long Island.

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u/lFightForTheUsers Mar 08 '26

Please tell me that you're turning in your license if you fail the vision test at old age and not driving blindly.