# Seven underage kids killed in car crash - Grandfather dies later when he finds out **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733 "2006-01-26T18:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/121 "2006-01-27T00:14:14Z")
I suppose it wouldn’t make a difference if the kids were on the way to a movie set where they were scheduled to play the underaged spouses of a Hollywood heartthrob. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/122 "2006-01-27T00:15:46Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I suppose it wouldn’t make a difference if the kids were on the way to a movie set where they were scheduled to play the underaged spouses of a Hollywood heartthrob. Only if it doesn’t really happen. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/123 "2006-01-27T00:21:02Z")
> [@lisacurl](#): > > The truck driver is still hospitalized and the investigation is continuing. I suspect that if/when law enforcement can determine that he was at fault, he will be arrested. He’s not going anywhere just now. You know, I understand just what you mean here in regard to them making the case with which to formally charge him. But (and given that this thread has become Nitpicker’s Paradise already), I cannot help finding fault (pun not intended) with the comment: “It was recently determined by the Florida D.M.V. Enforcement Squad that school buses should not stop to discharge passengers, nor teenage drivers duly stop for stopped school buses, lest they might interfere with the right-of-way of bleary-eyed tractor-trailer drivers transporting bottled water.” I’m aware that there is a bureaucratic process for apportioning “fault” in a motor vehicle accident and that criminal charges if any are dependent on that process. But damn! A stopped school bus, a van full of kids stopped for the bus, and a tractor-trailer that ploughs into them: you really have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who is at fault there! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/124 "2006-01-27T00:43:15Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > As far as the accident is concerned, no. > > I think it negligent to allowed an underaged driver to be on the road by herself, much less with six youner children. What if there had been an adult in the car? Would it have made any difference? They probably never knew what hit them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/125 "2006-01-27T00:45:53Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > What if there had been an adult in the car? Would it have made any difference? All of this has been covered earlier in the thread. > [@](#): > > They probably never knew what hit them. I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/126 "2006-01-27T01:09:24Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > You know, I understand just what you mean here in regard to them making the case with which to formally charge him. > > But (and given that this thread has become Nitpicker’s Paradise already), I cannot help finding fault (pun not intended) with the comment: > > “It was recently determined by the Florida D.M.V. Enforcement Squad that school buses should not stop to discharge passengers, nor teenage drivers duly stop for stopped school buses, lest they might interfere with the right-of-way of bleary-eyed tractor-trailer drivers transporting bottled water.” > > I’m aware that there is a bureaucratic process for apportioning “fault” in a motor vehicle accident and that criminal charges if any are dependent on that process. > > But damn! A stopped school bus, a van full of kids stopped for the bus, and a tractor-trailer that ploughs into them: you really have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who is at fault there! :smack: Crap. It sounds like I’m accusing **lisacurl** or her source of that sarcastic remark in quotes in my third paragraph. There was supposed to be a quotation from earlier in the topic inserted in there, which was missing. Sorry, **lisa**! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/127 "2006-01-27T02:05:14Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > \*\*but if they had waited for an adult to take them home, it would be likely they’d be alive right now \*\* Excuse me? The same can be said for ANYTHING. You seem to be saying that since the 15 year old bent the law a little bit, it is somehow her or her mothers fault that a truck came along and killed them. Bull shit. If Mom was in the car, as her daughter drove, it would likely be eight deaths. Or if it took another 20 seconds to get going because of Mom, nine kids on the bus and the bus driver may have been killed if the van was not behind it. You don’t know. Do you really think that a law that requires an adult to be in the car when a semi rear ends it going 60mph would save anyone? Your pit is bullshit Blue Sky, total bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/128 "2006-01-27T02:08:38Z")
Hey, **Mr. Blue Sky** , suffocating under all the straw everyone’s dumping on you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/129 "2006-01-27T02:08:50Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Your pit is bullshit Blue Sky, total bullshit. Um… Dude, not only is that party over, but the tenants have moved and the house was bulldozed to make room for a mini-mall, which has since gone out of business and is now a parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/130 "2006-01-27T02:21:18Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Excuse me? The same can be said for ANYTHING. You seem to be saying that since the 15 year old bent the law a little bit, it is somehow her or her mothers fault that a truck came along and killed them. > > Bull shit. > > If Mom was in the car, as her daughter drove, it would likely be eight deaths. > > Or if it took another 20 seconds to get going because of Mom, nine kids on the bus and the bus driver may have been killed if the van was not behind it. > > You don’t know. > > Do you really think that a law that requires an adult to be in the car when a semi rear ends it going 60mph would save anyone? > > Your pit is bullshit Blue Sky, total bullshit. You are excused. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/131 "2006-01-27T02:22:30Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Hey, **Mr. Blue Sky** , suffocating under all the straw everyone’s dumping on you? 😉 Nah, I’m cool. I live, I learn, I love. It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/132 "2006-01-27T02:22:51Z")
Why can’t we all just get along? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/133 "2006-01-27T02:23:32Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > You don’t know. But you do, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/134 "2006-01-27T02:33:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The dog burst into flames?! :eek: Well, not into flames. :eek: is exactly right, though. And :(, and :mad:, too. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/135 "2006-01-27T02:36:09Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > But you do, right? No. I never suggested I did. But I do know where to look for fault. From what I know, it is not in the underage drivers fault or the Mothers fault. I also don’t start pit threads when I don’t know who may be at fault. But, as a driver for 35 years, I suspect that the truck driver rear ending a car stopped behind a school bus is probably at fault. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/136 "2006-01-27T02:41:51Z")
One order of dead horse for table #15575! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/137 "2006-01-27T02:41:55Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I also don’t start pit threads when I don’t know who may be at fault. Apparently you don’t read pit threads very closely because if you did, you’ll see that the reason I started this thread was not to figure out whose fault the accident was. Thanks for playing, though. Johnny, what parting gifts does enipla get for trying? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/138 "2006-01-27T02:56:51Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Apparently you don’t read pit threads very closely because if you did, you’ll see that the reason I started this thread was not to figure out whose fault the accident was. > > Thanks for playing, though. > > Johnny, what parting gifts does enipla get for trying? > [@Mr Blue Sky](#): > > I have only one question: why were these children allowed to be out on the road without an adult? It is illegal for a 15-yr-old to drive without one. From your OP. This suggests that the adult or the 15 yr old was at fault. Not the driver of the truck. As an operator of a motor vehicle, you have a responsibility for looking out for everything. Even unlicensed but permitted drivers stopped behind a school bus. The 15 year old was stopped behind a school bus for crying out loud. If you can’t see that, then the truck would have just slammed into the school bus. ---
**Author:** ![ethanwinfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@ethanwinfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethanwinfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/139 "2006-01-27T02:58:39Z")
I agree with all those posters who think that had an adult been in the vehicle they would have missed the accident and still be alive. Here’s why: Adults are far less likely to stop for the stopped bus with its flashing red lights and stop sign hanging off the side of the window. An adult would merely (illegally) pass the bus and be on his/her way. See, in this accident, the teen driver actually obeyed the traffic law by stopping for a schoolbus discharging passengers. Since she was already breaking one law by driving in the first place, she should have just broken as many as she could. Since the bus was stopped and passengers were unloading, I hate to think what would have happened if that vehicle hadn’t come between the truck and the bus. I haven’t read detailed accounts, but I picture children standing near the door waiting to step off the bus. We can play what-if for the next 20 years. This underage driver and her 6 passengers may very well have saved the lives of every child on that bus as well as the bus driver and the truck driver. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733/140 "2006-01-27T03:05:37Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > From your OP. > > This suggests that the adult or the 15 yr old was at fault. Not the driver of the truck. As stated later in this thread, it was not meant to suggest anything of the sort. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-underage-kids-killed-in-car-crash-grandfather-dies-later-when-he-finds-out/341733.md?page=8)