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.
