Nobody likes it when somebody gets away with murder.
At least, that is my belief. Too often, though, it's put to the test when the dead person is a cyclist. It seems that too many police officers are unwilling to arrest intoxicated or negligent drivers who run down people on bicycles. And, if the cops do their jobs, too many jurors and judges are willing to let such drivers go with a "slap on the wrist."
In fact, hostility is directed toward the cyclist in much the same way it was, not so long ago, directed at rape victims: Somehow, in the minds of some people, the cyclist or rape victim brought it on him/her self.
So, it catches my attention when a hit-and-run driver who kills a cyclist is actually brought to account for her actions.
I used the female pronoun because, in this case, the perpetrator is indeed female. Lacey Jade Jordan of Oakdale, Louisiana was driving a Chevrolet Silverado south on U.S. 165 when she struck Taurus McQuarn, who was cycling in the same direction. She struck him and fled the scene.
Notice that I said "her actions." You see, it's not the first time Ms. Jordan has done something like that. In November 2012, she struck and killed another cyclist along the very same road. Then, she and the cyclist were both traveling on the northbound side.
So, it took two cyclists' deaths before a negligent driver was arrested and charged. Does it mean that, in the eyes of Louisiana law enforcement, each of our lives is worth half of a non-cyclist's life?
At least, that is my belief. Too often, though, it's put to the test when the dead person is a cyclist. It seems that too many police officers are unwilling to arrest intoxicated or negligent drivers who run down people on bicycles. And, if the cops do their jobs, too many jurors and judges are willing to let such drivers go with a "slap on the wrist."
In fact, hostility is directed toward the cyclist in much the same way it was, not so long ago, directed at rape victims: Somehow, in the minds of some people, the cyclist or rape victim brought it on him/her self.
So, it catches my attention when a hit-and-run driver who kills a cyclist is actually brought to account for her actions.
I used the female pronoun because, in this case, the perpetrator is indeed female. Lacey Jade Jordan of Oakdale, Louisiana was driving a Chevrolet Silverado south on U.S. 165 when she struck Taurus McQuarn, who was cycling in the same direction. She struck him and fled the scene.
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| Lacey Jade Jordan |
Notice that I said "her actions." You see, it's not the first time Ms. Jordan has done something like that. In November 2012, she struck and killed another cyclist along the very same road. Then, she and the cyclist were both traveling on the northbound side.
So, it took two cyclists' deaths before a negligent driver was arrested and charged. Does it mean that, in the eyes of Louisiana law enforcement, each of our lives is worth half of a non-cyclist's life?
And the headlines STILL call it an "accident!"
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