# Laura Bush Opens Up About Why Crash Wasn't Really Her Fault **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617 "2010-04-28T13:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/121 "2010-05-05T00:19:25Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Off topic a little, but how come every time I hear “sleek sports car” and “prone to rolling over” in the same sentence my world spins? I always thought the definition of “sleek sports car” was that it was low an wide, making it more difficult to tip? Well for one thing I have a very hard time thinking of the Corvair as [“sleek and sporty”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair#First_generation_.281960-1964.29) in any way. The damn things were pretty much breadboxes on wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/122 "2010-05-05T00:21:41Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Which part of her post indicates to you that she didn’t read the OP? Er, the part where she completely missed the point. (Using “part” in the mathematical rather than the colloquial sense, since the former definition encompasses the whole as a “part”.) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/123 "2010-05-05T00:24:35Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It seems that you guys are saying that everyone who commits manslaughter should just be free to go their own way if they feel sufficiently bad about it afterwards. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m interpreting your meaning to be. Ever get annoyed at the anti-abortion types who insist that abortion is murder, regardless of what the law says? You just joined their ranks, sorta. Manslaughter is a crime – to intentionally take someone’s life (as a charged crime, without prior intent, which would be murder, though it’s left broad in most states’ definitions so as to encompass manslaughter _sensu stricto_ and intentional murder, as a lesser charge). There are other crimes – one most often called criminally negligent homicide, which means that somebody died as a result of your actions, even though you didn’t intend it, because you neglected to take sufficient precautions that any reasonable person would have, that is, you were criminally negligent. Some negligence doesn’t rise to the level of criminal negligence – e.g., you probably should have inspected and replaced the tire that blew, causing the accident, but you didn’t. Sort of negligent, but not criminally so. And so on. Killing in self defense is not a crime. Causing a death inadvertently while taking reasonable care to avoid doing so is usually not a crime either. Laura did something foolish, something negligent. Someone died as a result. For whatever reason, the D.A. and Grand Jury declined to charge and indict her for criminally negligent homicide, or whatever term Texas uses for the equivalent crime. Some years later, she wrote a book that included somewhat exculpatory comments about it – or at least words that, taken out of the context she wrote them in, sound exculpatory. (I haven’t read the book and don’t intend to – I’m simply noting that we don’t know the context. She might have said something like. “I killed him/her, and that guilt is something that will always stay with me. In my defense, I could say that…” and then include the stuff that provoked the OP. (I gather that’s not the case-- but I’m looking at her motivations, not at what was printed.) Not to be a smartass, or to sound like I’m lecturing someone younger, but it’s been my experience over the years that often, letting the criminal justice system do its job and then abiding by the results, unless you see something that is a serious miscarriage of justice, is usually the right move. A news report, a quote out of context, can lead to conclusions that people with all the information at hand may not come to – they may see reasons to act or not to act that don’t end up in the public eye, for whatever reason. There was a story twenty-odd years back about a man who shot his own son in cold blood, and everybody was doing R.O. about it. What didn’t come out in the papers was that the son was off his head on some drug at the time, and lunging for a knife with intent to kill or maim, and the man was wracked with regret at having had to do it. I have no clue why Laura wasn’t charged, but in the judgment of the people with the power to lay charges, she wasn’t, and I take that as probable grounds to think there were good reasons. (Sometimes the ‘good reasons’ are that a member of a prominent family was allowed to get away with something criminal due to family pull, but I have no reason to think that was the case here – she was not yet a part of a famous family, just a 17-year-old girl.) In any case, it’s water under the bridge. The only reason it has come up is because Laura included some comments on it in her book – and I have a very strong hunch she did that only because partisan sniping has brought back up what happened back when she was 17 as a way to get at her husband. I’m not overly fond of any of the Bushes – but I think this is something that deserves to be buried in peace, along with Chappaquiddick, Gerald Ford’s clumsiness, and a host of other petty issues from the past. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/124 "2010-05-05T00:40:18Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Ever get annoyed at the anti-abortion types who insist that abortion is murder, regardless of what the law says? You just joined their ranks, sorta. First of all, not to defend annoying anti-abortion protesters, but if a law is made calling an orange a grape, it doesn’t change what the orange is. > [@Polycarp](#): > > Manslaughter is a crime – to intentionally take someone’s life Excuse me, I meant _involuntary_ manslaughter. Pretend I had said this: It seems that you guys are saying that everyone who commits _involuntary_ manslaughter should just be free to go their own way if they feel sufficiently bad about it afterwards. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m interpreting your meaning to be. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/125 "2010-05-05T00:53:52Z")
I am not into conspiracies, so I really don’t believe she was trying to kill him because he was breaking up with her. I don’t believe it. Just a coincidence that she knew him and drilled his car as he drove down the street. That taught him a lesson about who he was messing with. But I don’t believe it. Not me. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/126 "2010-05-05T01:21:59Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Er, the part where she completely missed the point. (Using “part” in the mathematical rather than the colloquial sense, since the former definition encompasses the whole as a “part”.) Why am I not surprised that you are unable to point out specifics. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/127 "2010-05-05T01:25:45Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Sure it is. When I say that there were no consequences for her killing a man, I think it’s pretty fucking obvious that I’m talking about punishment. Not really. You came across as someone who believes that the only consequences worth considering are those of the legal variety, which is pretty fucking obviously not true. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/128 "2010-05-05T01:50:52Z")
Is it odd that I would actually rather be killed accidentally by someone, than to kill someone accidentally? I seriously doubt that I could live with it. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/129 "2010-05-05T01:55:44Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not really. You came across as someone who believes that the only consequences worth considering are those of the legal variety, which is pretty fucking obviously not true. They’re the only ones worth considering when it comes to talking about whether she got off scot-free. Which she did. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/130 "2010-05-05T02:03:25Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > They’re the only ones worth considering when it comes to talking about whether she got off scot-free. You’d have a point if that’s what we were talking about. We weren’t, though. You were talking about “no consequences” in post 94, which was also the post I responded to. Nobody was discussing whether or not she escaped legal consequences, and you yourself made the statement in reference to whether or not she deserved any sympathy. Whether or not she got off “scot-free” in the eyes of the law had absolutely nothing to do with the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/131 "2010-05-05T02:04:27Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > First of all, not to defend annoying anti-abortion protesters, but if a law is made calling an orange a grape, it doesn’t change what the orange is. > > Excuse me, I meant _involuntary_ manslaughter. > > Pretend I had said this: > > It seems that you guys are saying that everyone who commits _involuntary_ manslaughter should just be free to go their own way if they feel sufficiently bad about it afterwards. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m interpreting your meaning to be. Fair enough. Based on what you know at this point, what do you think _should have_ happened in consequence of the accident? (Not polemic I’m genuinely curious about your view here.) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/132 "2010-05-05T02:18:16Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You’d have a point if that’s what we were talking about. We weren’t, though. Orly? > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I started a Pit thread a couple of months ago called, “If you want to kill someone consequence-free, do it with your car.” or something like that. Yee-haw. Huh, I wonder what **Cat Whisperer** is talking about here. Wait a minute! I remember reading that thread: She was talking about how there were no legal ramifications for certain people who ran one another over. Wow, how could you have missed this one? > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, she wasn’t charged with anything. What was she supposed to do? Ask to be jailed? Wait a minute, it looks like they’re discussing legal responses here, too. > [@spark240](#): > > Yep. If you ever need to kill somebody and get away with it, get in your car. “And get away with it”? I’m sure he actually means “and not feel remorse,” because you claim that that’s all we were talking about, so that must be it. And that’s just from page one. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/133 "2010-05-05T02:20:42Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Orly? > > Huh, I wonder what **Cat Whisperer** is talking about here. Wait a minute! I remember reading that thread: She was talking about how there were no legal ramifications for certain people who ran one another over. Wow, how could you have missed this one? > > Wait a minute, it looks like they’re discussing legal responses here, too. > > “And get away with it”? I’m sure he actually means “and not feel remorse,” because you claim that that’s all we were talking about, so that must be it. > > And that’s just from page one. Too bad you weren’t responding to those people, and were instead talking about the amount of sympathy Laura Bush deserved. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/134 "2010-05-05T02:22:50Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Based on what you know at this point, what do you think _should have_ happened in consequence of the accident? (Not polemic I’m genuinely curious about your view here.) Good question. I really don’t know. What are the current laws regarding legal recourse against people who commit involuntary vehicular manslaughter? This question deserves a thread all of its own, but all I was claiming was that there _weren’t_ consequences. Real consequences, not self-imposed ones. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/135 "2010-05-05T02:25:56Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You were talking about “no consequences” in post 94, which was also the post I responded to. Nobody was discussing whether or not she escaped legal consequences, and you yourself made the statement in reference to whether or not she deserved any sympathy. Whether or not she got off “scot-free” in the eyes of the law had absolutely nothing to do with the discussion. > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Too bad you … were instead talking about the amount of sympathy Laura Bush deserved. What a joke you are. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/136 "2010-05-05T02:37:47Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > What a joke you are. Oooh, you got me. > [@](#): > > I really don’t know. What are the current laws regarding legal recourse against people who commit involuntary vehicular manslaughter? Not intending any snark here, but she didn’t commit involuntary manslaughter. The reason she wasn’t charged with such probably stemmed from the fact that the DA didn’t believe that she was operating her car in a grossly negligent manner. In many cases, you have to do something a bit worse than just run a stop sign. Danny Heatley was convicted of it when he crashed after driving at 100+ miles per hour on a residential street. A lot of drunk drivers are charged with it if they kill someone. Regardless, it doesn’t simply mean “you killed someone, but didn’t mean to.” ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/137 "2010-05-05T02:41:17Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not intending any snark here, but she didn’t commit involuntary manslaughter. The reason she wasn’t charged with such probably stemmed from the fact that the DA didn’t believe that she was operating her car in a grossly negligent manner. In many cases, you have to do something a bit worse than just run a stop sign. Danny Heatley was convicted of it when he crashed after driving at 100+ miles per hour on a residential street. A lot of drunk drivers are charged with it if they kill someone. Regardless, it doesn’t simply mean “you killed someone, but didn’t mean to.” See **Cat Whisperer** ’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/138 "2010-05-05T02:44:31Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > See **Cat Whisperer** ’s post. Why? I thought you asked about the current laws on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/139 "2010-05-05T02:46:39Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Why? I thought you asked about the current laws on the subject. Yup. Then you responded. Then I pointed you to **Cat Whisperer** ’s post because it adequately sums up my response. Glad you’re able to tell what people are posting about now. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/140 "2010-05-05T02:47:51Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Yup. Then you responded. Then I pointed you to **Cat Whisperer** ’s post because it adequately sums up my response. > > Glad you’re able to tell what people are posting about now. It’s pretty easy when they don’t try to weasel away from what they were actually talking about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617.md?page=8)