Woman Sentenced to Jail for OWI After Hitting Teen on Bicycle
Although I wasn't happy to hear about another cyclist hit by a car, I was somewhat heartened, if only for a moment, when I read "Woman Sentenced". Too often, motorists who hit and injure, or even kill, cyclists get off scot-free--or don't get much more than the proverbial "slap on the wrist."
Unfortunately, the latter was actually the case for the woman in the headline. Yes, she is going to jail--for 28 days. Now, if she had been like the driver who stayed at the scene after smacking into a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy in Brooklyn last month, I might have thought the sentence too harsh. But there are other, shall we say, mitigating circumstances.
Those circumstances include the fact that she left the scene--and that she was intoxicated. But, oh, no, this isn't an isolated incident in her resume: This is her third drunk driving arrest.
Karen Nugent probably knew that she was facing serious time--say, five years, which is what the law allows for someone with her record in Michigan, where she smacked into that teenager. So she pleaded guilty and got a deal: The charges were reduced to a second-offense Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) and not stopping at the scene of an accident.
I don't know whether I am more upset at Ms. Nugent--or the judge in Benzie County who made the deal with her.
Although I wasn't happy to hear about another cyclist hit by a car, I was somewhat heartened, if only for a moment, when I read "Woman Sentenced". Too often, motorists who hit and injure, or even kill, cyclists get off scot-free--or don't get much more than the proverbial "slap on the wrist."
Unfortunately, the latter was actually the case for the woman in the headline. Yes, she is going to jail--for 28 days. Now, if she had been like the driver who stayed at the scene after smacking into a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy in Brooklyn last month, I might have thought the sentence too harsh. But there are other, shall we say, mitigating circumstances.
Those circumstances include the fact that she left the scene--and that she was intoxicated. But, oh, no, this isn't an isolated incident in her resume: This is her third drunk driving arrest.
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| Karen Nugent |
Karen Nugent probably knew that she was facing serious time--say, five years, which is what the law allows for someone with her record in Michigan, where she smacked into that teenager. So she pleaded guilty and got a deal: The charges were reduced to a second-offense Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) and not stopping at the scene of an accident.
I don't know whether I am more upset at Ms. Nugent--or the judge in Benzie County who made the deal with her.
I note that the article didn't say if she's going to lose her license to drive as part of the plea, nor even if she still had it after two drunk driving arrests (and, presumably, convictions).
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