# So who has been injured by a texter? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883 "2018-03-20T13:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/101 "2018-03-22T17:49:26Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I ended up with two scraped and bruised knees, and my one good (right hand) is swollen, bruised, and has a good cut in it. Knocking into someone hard enough to cause injuries to three separate limbs is not exactly just brushing their shoulder; it’s a shot. To clock someone that hard one has to be big (he was) &/or _moving_, or both. Do stupid stuff, there are consequences. The OP states the PD took a report & the offender is being charged with something, is it possible he received some summary offense rather than a felony or misdemeanor assault? > [@Riemann](#): > > What if you are depraved but not indifferent? You get moved & get a [drink](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzH8VXlXxNE&t=34s). ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/102 "2018-03-22T18:17:29Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Knocking into someone hard enough to cause injuries to three separate limbs is not exactly just brushing their shoulder; it’s a shot. A shot? Scraped and bruised knees and an injured hand (three separate limbs!) can happen when one falls regardless of what causes the person to fall. One doesn’t necessarily need to be bumped into from behind hard to fall from loss of balance or another reason. I’ve seen people fall from having the back of a foot accidentally hit by another’s foot. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/103 "2018-03-22T18:40:25Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Okay. I said the texter was being charged with assault. I have two messed up knees and my right arm was swollen and bruised from my wrist half way up to my elbow. My left wrist bone was snapped off years ago, and I am considered disabled because of it. The buy was very large, I was looking in the other direction and he hit me, causing me to fly and then crash. > > I’ve heard that texting while walking is now against the law in Florida. GOOD! > > Kiddies, do not text and walk. Annie, was this post in response to me? If it was, you didn’t answer any of my questions. I would like to know if the texter was arrested at the scene, what attracted the cop to the scene, and what exactly the guy was charged with (and if he was in fact charged with a crime). If you weren’t responding to me feel to scroll on past but I would appreciate answers. ---
**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 23, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/104 "2018-03-23T18:14:07Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > The OP states the PD took a report & the offender is being charged with something, is it possible he received some summary offense rather than a felony or misdemeanor assault? Well, yes, it is possible. In fact, that seems far more like to me than a charge of assault causing bodily injury. But the OP explicitly said: > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The texter is being charged with assault and causing bodily injury. Quite frankly, given the circumstances outlined in the OP, such a charge would seem to be a gross over-reaction on the part of the officer. I fucking hate people who walk around texting and not paying attention to where they’re going, and in the OP’s situation i would have been pretty angry, but a charge of assault seems excessive. That said, **x-ray vision** has already posted the definition of Simple Assault under the [New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice](https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2013/title-2c/section-2c-12-1/). I’ll repeat it here, because it seems relevant: > [@](#): > > 2C:12-1. Assault. a. Simple assault. A person is guilty of assault if he: > > (1)Attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or _ **recklessly** _ causes bodily injury to another; or > > (2)Negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon; or > > (3)Attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Emphasis mine. It seems to me that a cop could, if s/he were so inclined, interpret what happened in this instance as recklessly causing bodily injury. **Loach** said in an earlier post that recklessly causing injury requires a deadly weapon, but as **x-ray vision** notes, the law doesn’t seem to require a weapon. I’d still be interested to know if the guy was actually cuffed and arrested at the scene, and whether the OP was asked to make any sort of formal statement. While assault charges don’t necessarily require the victim to press charges, many police and prosecutors are reluctant to lay such charges in the absence of a complainant, because they know that it’s hard to get a conviction if the victim won’t testify. I’d ask the OP: Did she make a statement? Did she express a willingness to press charges against the man when she was talking to the police officer? Is she willing to go to court to testify against this guy, if he pleads “not guilty” to the charge? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/105 "2018-03-24T13:24:37Z")
I did not break my wrist bone. It snapped off of the two bones it sits upon. And, yes, it is possible to do, but very rarely happens. Fortunately, it was my left wristbone, and I am right handed. The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Probably while I was on the ground screaming about my right hand injury. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/106 "2018-03-24T14:03:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I did not break my wrist bone. It snapped off of the two bones it sits upon. And, yes, it is possible to do, but very rarely happens. Fortunately, it was my left wristbone, and I am right handed. > > The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Probably while I was on the ground screaming about my right hand injury. Have they dropped those ridiculous charges yet? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/107 "2018-03-24T15:17:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > While I was screaming at the idiot, a police officer pulled up and took a report. > > … > > The texter is being charged with assault and causing bodily injury. > [@](#): > > The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Probably while I was on the ground screaming about my right hand injury. Can you give us a better idea of what happened here? I know it’s not why you started this thread, but if you’re going to give us the above details, why not just complete the picture for us? “A bystander held the guy’s arm” is a bit of an attention grabber. When you were screaming at the man who crashed into you from behind, a bystander was restraining him and simultaneously flagging down a police officer? The police officer took a report while the man was being restrained? Or did the officer cuff him or sit him in the back of his car? A man was being restrained and no other police officers came to the scene? Are there any reasons that you’re aware of for why this man needed to be restrained (if I interpreted that part correctly)? How did you become aware that he is being charged with assault and causing bodily injury? ---
**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 24, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/108 "2018-03-24T16:38:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The person is 6’4" and weighs 230 pounds. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Probably while I was on the ground screaming about my right hand injury. Must have been a pretty strong bystander. Like the others, i’d be very interested to hear exactly how this all went down. Quite frankly, your story leaves me with more questions than answers. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/109 "2018-03-24T20:23:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Was the bystander charged with assault? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/110 "2018-03-25T02:14:58Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Knocking into someone hard enough to cause injuries to three separate limbs is not exactly just brushing their shoulder; it’s a shot. To clock someone that hard one has to be big (he was) &/or _moving_, or both. You don’t have to move very fast to cause those types of injuries. I managed to get a set of identical injuries while leaving a football field one night, and no one even bumped into me: someone thought that covering audio cables on the ground with some black fabric for a night event was a good idea… When I tripped over the cable I wasn’t walking fast given how many other people were trying to leave too. The results were two scraped knees, a scraped palm, and a rip in the knee of my jeans. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/111 "2018-03-25T06:16:30Z")
Did you think of something clever to say and then did the people around break out in applause? ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883/112 "2018-03-25T15:22:12Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I did not break my wrist bone. It snapped off of the two bones it sits upon. And, yes, it is possible to do, but very rarely happens. Fortunately, it was my left wristbone, and I am right handed. > > The police report states a by stander held the guy’s arm and flagged down a police car. Probably while I was on the ground screaming about my right hand injury. Okay, I have to assume you’re choosing to ignore the requests for clarification since your follow up posts are vague and raise more questions. I don’t believe this incident was a complete fabrication, but, well, the literary device of an unreliable narrator comes to mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-has-been-injured-by-a-texter/810883.md?page=5)