# Hit & run kills my co-worker **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707 "2009-03-25T04:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707/21 "2009-03-26T21:08:03Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I fail to see what punishing this guy for the rest of his life will do to bring the deceased back to life and solve anything. You’re right, it won’t. And i find myself going back and forth on this issue when it comes to incidents like the one described in the OP. On the one hand, i’m not an excessively punitive, “law and order” type person. I believe all non-violent drug offenders should be released from prison forthwith, and i also believe that, in cases where rehabilitation can be shown to be effective, it is generally preferable to incarceration for many things. I’m also not convinced that massive, punitive sentences have a great deterrent effect. On the other hand, i also get tired of reading stories like the OP, and tired of seeing people run red lights or blow through pedestrian crosswalks. I think part of the reason that so many people are so cavalier behind the wheel of a car is that we, as a society, have not made clear enough that piloting two tons of metal at high speed is something that requires all your concentration, and we have been too quick to let negligent drivers off with a slap on the wrist. And many of these negligent drivers come back more than once with similar offenses, so in many cases it’s not a single incident of lapsed concentration; it’s a pattern of poor judgment or simple recklessness. I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267569) about one such incident a few years back. I mean, if we extend your logic, putting Bernie Madoff in jail for his massive Ponzi scheme won’t “solve anything” either. His incarceration won’t get those people their money back, or rebuild the lives he’s destroyed. And it’s not like putting Madoff in jail is really a preventative measure either, because he’s now so well known that no-one would ever give him another cent anyway, so he can’t run his scam again if we leave him out of prison. But, although i’m not a overly punitive person, i do believe that prison serves a viable punitive function, designed to deprive someone of liberty as punishment for doing something they should not have done. Is it an imperfect solution? Sure. I’m just not sure what the alternative is. It doesn’t seem right to just say to the guy “Hey, don’t run any more red lights,” and send him on his way. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707/22 "2009-03-26T21:35:56Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I forwarded the article on to a friend of mine who is a criminal defense attorney and asked him what he thought the guy would get (based just on that). > > His response: > > "Assuming no priors, he’s looking at manslaughter, hit and run, perjury, etc… > > I would guess 3 years prison." > > For once I sincerely hope my friend is wrong. Jesus H! That’s really messed-up. You kill a human being, under the influence and likely get _three years_? Meantime, how many kids are serving hard time for smoking pot? * * * My condolences, **Valgard** , even if you weren’t close I can see how something as senseless as this could affect you as well. Can’t imagine how his family must feel. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707/23 "2009-03-26T21:57:05Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Not a hit and run, but an interesting story none the less. > > A workstation tech that I supervised at one point got killed a few months ago after being hit by a motorcycle. Note that this occured in the capital of Yemen, Sana’a. The story as I was told it: > > -The motorcycle was travelling the wrong way down the street. > -The motorcycle was carrying 3 people. Regular motorcycle, no sidecar. > -The 3 people on the motorcycle were all cops. > > He was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Because he wasn’t carrying any ID, the hospital refused to take him (hospitals won’t take you if you don’t have any obvious means to pay). He was taken to the next hospital who also refused to take him. The third hospital took him. See the hospital will take you once you are dead because they know the family will pay to claim your body… Three people on a motorcycle is not uncommon in Sana’a (not as common as it is in Phnom Penh tho). My wife was in hospital in Yemen and was treated before we showed ID or proof of ability to pay. Perhaps because we are white and were in Yemen, they assumed we’d be good for it. This was at Yemeni-German hospital and Saudi-German hospital in Sana’a, neither of which have any relation to Germany (“German” implies quality in Yemen). Overall, the traffic in Sana’a moves quite slowly even when there is little congestion. BTW: I am never without ID, esp. in a place like Yemen… seems pretty odd to travel without ID there. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707/24 "2009-03-26T22:20:55Z")
I agree with **mhendo** - the driver should be punished for what he did, and his punishment should also serve a deterrent function so that some other people might be dissuaded from doing the same thing. This isn’t a tragic accident. The driver knowingly took a vehicle that didn’t belong to him, then (judging by the story) knowingly consumed alcohol, and at age 21 it is simply not believable that he doesn’t know that drinking impairs your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Then in his inebriated state he drove recklessly and killed someone, then fled the scene and lied in an attempt to cover it up. Every single thing here was either a conscious decision or the direct result of his conscious decisions. He didn’t knock over a mailbox or ding somebody’s mirror, he killed someone. He should be punished for that. And his friends who were in the vehicle should be in some hellacious trouble too - if they knew he was drinking and let him drive anyhow they share a bit of the blame. If they fled the scene with him that’s very serious, as is any attempt to help cover up the crime. They all deserve punishment - most severely for the driver and whatever is appropriate for the other people based on exactly what they did. People should **see** them getting sentenced to jail and know that if they ever do something like that they might injure or kill a person too, and they will get caught and they will go to jail for a long time and just maybe a few of those people will decide that maybe they should ask before “borrowing” the car so they won’t feel the urge to drive like a maniac, and maybe they’ll decide one guy has nothing but soda at the club because he is driving. If the guy gets some token and minimal punishment it isn’t going to make him regret his actions and nobody else is going to think that we as a society consider this to be unacceptable behavior. Killing a guy. Remember that. Would anyone feel any differently if he had borrowed his aunt’s rifle, had a few beers, fired in random directions and put a round into somebody’s skull? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-run-kills-my-co-worker/490707.md?page=1)