Boy on skateboard struck by car, driver takes off

"So now deaf people aren't allowed to drive?"

---I thought the whole reason it's illegal to wear headphones while you drive is it completely cuts off your hearing outside the car. If deaf people are allowed to drive that's just silly. How do you know when someone honks from danger, or when a fire truck or ems is coming? Can you hear any danger at all, like someone yelling don't back up there's a kid behind your car?

"The skateboarder hit HER; it's not her fault."

---It doesn't matter who's fault it is. If you leave the scene of an accident it's a crime.

Maybe hit and run isn't deserved, but take that woman's car away and get her a bus pass.

And again I will say - STOP CONDEMNING AND READ THE DARNED ARTICLE and then stop and THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE CONDEMNING!!!!!!!!!! This is why we have such a litigious society - everyone wants to place BLAME somewhere and everyone assumes whatever they choose to without ascertaining the FACTS in any matter. We say the magic words "kid" and "elderly person" and automatically, in our minds - the "kid" is absolutely innocent and the "elderly person" is responsible and needs their license suspended. HOW DO YOU SPELL "ASS-U-ME"?!?!?!?!?
The skateboarding kid HIT THE VEHICLE - IN THE REAR!
Not the other way around!
The kid skated INTO THE VEHICLE!
Now - STOP and THINK THINK THINK!!!!!!!!!!

1. Skateboarder was boarding DOWNHILL. This means that he was gaining speed.
2. Due to excessive speed - Skateboarder LOST the ability to stop prior to entering the intersection.
3. Driver was DRIVING and paying attention to the road AHEAD of her!!!!!! AHEAD! We ALL make assumptions when driving - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US! We do NOT have EYES all around our head and can only be looking in ONE direction at any given second!
4. The driver of the vehicle obviously had the right of way as the driver was going forward - there was no notification in the form of a RED stoplight or stop sign to tell her to STOP. Nor was there a sign which indicated she needed to cede right of way to anyone or anything entering the intersection.
5. NOWHERE does it say that the driver ran either a yellow caution light or a red stop light. NOWHERE does it say that the driver ran a STOP sign or failed to YIELD the right of way at a YIELD sign. THEREFORE, we should assume that the driver did NOT run either a caution or stop light or go through a stop sign without stopping.
6. IF the driver was going a reasonable speed in town - which could be anywhere from 25mph for a back road to 45mph for a two-lane "highway" - from the point at which she saw this skateboarder to reaction time is nanoseconds - so she slams on the brakes ....... and then what? The skateboarder would have hit her in the FRONT? Did you REALLY think she had time to stop? Perhaps if she were walking - yes...... Riding a bike - yes. Riding a moped - possibly. Driving a TWO TON VEHICLE? No.

This issue we have with SKIMMING through an article and CONDEMNING without attempting to UNDERSTAND is a large PROBLEM within our society today.

valkyrie35 wrote:

"So now deaf people aren't allowed to drive?"
---I thought the whole reason it's illegal to wear headphones while you drive is it completely cuts off your hearing outside the car. If deaf people are allowed to drive that's just silly. How do you know when someone honks from danger, or when a fire truck or ems is coming? Can you hear any danger at all, like someone yelling don't back up there's a kid behind your car?
"The skateboarder hit HER; it's not her fault."
---It doesn't matter who's fault it is. If you leave the scene of an accident it's a crime.
Maybe hit and run isn't deserved, but take that woman's car away and get her a bus pass.

You don't get it!
If you are in an accident of any type, your fault or not, you are obligated to stay at the scene. She broke the law by leaving. As for the Meriden police, if the driver was hispanic that explains why she was not cited. The Meriden police are more interested in not getting accused of profiling, than they are in doing the job they are paid very well to do.

Spliff wrote:

She hit the kid and left the scene??? And she is not arrested???

That is because she was probably hispanic. The Meriden police will not bother them unless they do some type of violent crime with a gun or knife.

The kid shouldn't have been in the road. What a moron! Now he knows what being a speed bump feels like.

Foamer Control wrote:

Another example of the "bad attitude" Connecticut drivers. And another reason the police need to do their jobs. An their job is not to hide with a radar gun, but write citations for things that are dangerous. Just think to yourself for a moment how many people you see each day running red lights and stop signs? This needs to stop and the people need to fear that the police will ticket them. Bad drivers know that there is little chance or only bad luck, that they ever get a ticket for anything.

I agree with you but they do absolutely sh!t around here. Today I saw a car PACKED with kids - kids that should be seatbelted and some in car seats. NINE kids crammed into a space that legally was to hold three! Five sitting in the seats the rest on their laps. We were sitting at a red lite in a long line of cars. Right next to them?! A new haven cop who did absolutely NOTHING!

"So now deaf people aren't allowed to drive?"

Got news for you. The deaf can feel. My best friend and her family were deaf and I spent years involved in this family. They can dance to music because they feel the bass. They can feel things when they hit somehting.

valkyrie35 wrote:

If deaf people are allowed to drive that's just silly. How do you know when someone honks from danger, or when a fire truck or ems is coming? Can you hear any danger at all, like someone yelling don't back up there's a kid behind your car?

Normally I agree with your posts Val but this one was a bit too far.

Just because they can't hear does not mean they cant drive. Being deaf doesnt hinder their ability. A lot of them have their cars specially equipped to alert them to sirens - a light blinks in their car. They also tend to pay closer attention to driving because they cant hear.

MotherHenDragon wrote:

The skateboarding kid HIT THE VEHICLE - IN THE REAR!Not the other way around! The kid skated INTO THE VEHICLE! Now - STOP and THINK THINK THINK!!!!!!!!!!

You are absolutely clueless. We are not saying she should lose her license because she hit someone but because she shows poor judgement and does not have all of her faculties to drive. Someone OUTSIDE the car, AWAY from the accident HEARD her hit someone. The article said the kid hit her in the SIDE of the car, not the back. You even admitted as does the article that it was a high rate of speed - this a pretty big "thud" would occur that she didnt notice?!?!

The problem is she didnt see, hear or feel the accident. She should not be driving.

"They can feel things when they hit somehting."

---Fine. So why is it illegal to drive while wearing headphones in both ears then? Like listening to an iPod? It was my understanding the reason it's illegal is you need to be able to hear while driving. If deaf people are allowed to drive, than everyone should also be allowed to have headphones in both ears listening to music if they choose to.

---Whether or not the accident was her fault, she allegedly felt an impact, didn't look, and kept going. I've hit potholes, and guess what? The car drops down, hence the hole. I've hit speed bumps, and the car lifts. Hence the bump. I've also run over various things on the road. In ALL the cases, I always check my rear view mirror. If a skateboarder hit my car, I would know, and I would stop. Even if it was 100 percent his fault, I would still stop to make sure he was okay. Accidents happen. Leaving them without checking is just stupid.