N.J. Trooper Critically Injured Following Accident

Debbie D

You said on Friday that you would want anyone who causes an accident by DUI/DWI that kills or injures someone, to be put in jail for life.

Don't you think that should AT LEAST be the punishment for Trooper Higbee since he was not even Drunk? Higbee can't blame alcohol for his bad judgement, so that in a sense makes him look that much worse (not to mention how badly the Powerful Trooper organization and its "investigation", looks).

Anyone who choses to drink and then gets into a car and drives is making a decision that they know could have dire consequences. This is why people who do this are put in jail. This is a crazy statement you are making. In your mind its o.k. if people drink and kill someone since their judgement was impaired????

This is crazy wrote:

Debbie D
You said on Friday that you would want anyone who causes an accident by DUI/DWI that kills or injures someone, to be put in jail for life.
Don't you think that should AT LEAST be the punishment for Trooper Higbee since he was not even Drunk? Higbee can't blame alcohol for his bad judgement, so that in a sense makes him look that much worse (not to mention how badly the Powerful Trooper organization and its "investigation", looks).

Bob,
I wanted to say the same about the cost of the funeral , but just forgot to mention it. However if the law states he loses his DL then so be it.

Bob wrote:

Personally, I think his license should be suspended for some time also, maybe also re-imburse
the girls mother for funeral expenses.

This is crazy,
Look we can voice our opinions over and over again, and still not agree on what should and shouldn't be done. The only thing for sure is that the laws of each state will be used to dish out his punishment. It is not my fault that corruption is rampant in a lot of organizations, and I have said many times, get your family, friends, neighbors, etc... and got rally/lobby to change this and "clean house". if we speak loud enough and long enough to the right people, we together as citizens of the US can change laws and demand that laws be changed. Look at all the new laws enacted throughtout NJ and several other states, named after victims. But it can't be done sitting behind a computer screen venting your anger and to some insulting people. I have always said the laws apply to everyone, and no one should be treated different. Like I wrote to "family friend" is it fair when a police is killed and all other cases are forgotten about and a national manhunt is on for their killer, and then if caught he will get the death penalty. If they don't do that for the common people, why do it for the police forces? We are all equal, and if you break the law no matter who you are, your punishment should be the same as everyone else. As far as drunk vs sober, you make a decession when you leave your home to go out and drink, so therefore you are saying it is ok to drink and drive after drinking one or several drinks during the day/evening/night. so to me, MY OWN OPINION, Not the law, a drunk in an accident is worse then a sober person, for they made that choice to drink and drive. Being drunk is no excuse, you know the laws before you took your first drink and you know that it is against the law. Again my own opinion, no one else needs to agree with it.

This is crazy wrote:

Debbie D
You said on Friday that you would want anyone who causes an accident by DUI/DWI that kills or injures someone, to be put in jail for life.
Don't you think that should AT LEAST be the punishment for Trooper Higbee since he was not even Drunk? Higbee can't blame alcohol for his bad judgement, so that in a sense makes him look that much worse (not to mention how badly the Powerful Trooper organization and its "investigation", looks).

noname, NO that is NOT what i am saying, had you read my other post, where I said that all people charged with DUI/DWI should spend the rest of their lives in jail. That they make the decession to drink and drive, the comment was made to me, that a drunk is NOT in their right mind or something to that effect, and a person such as Higbee can not use the excuse he was drunk so should be held more accountable for his actions. I have no respect for anyone driving under the influence of anything. ANd they should spend the rest of their lives in jail. For , they made a decession to get in their cars, go drink and then drive home. Or drink at home and get in their car and go someplace else. So if you want to drink, then stay out from behind the steering wheel. You mis-read my statement, it is NOT ok to drink and drive. never has been and never will be. And I said they needto spend the rest of their lives in jail. Go read my other post to "Family Friend" and see what i wrote. To me a person who drinks and drives that is intent to comitt and should spend the rest of their lives in prison. Here in PA last week, a man was finally, yes finally sentenced to 2 1/2 - 5 years in prison, it was his 10th yes tenth DUI charge, but this one was a fatal. So he finally got a sentence. he should have been thrown in jail for the first one, let alone him being arrested 9 more times. And each arrest he was involved in an accident that caused injuries, but the tenth one caused a fatal. The tenth accident should have never happen, nor the 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, had he been jailed after the first DUI accident. Our laws are screwed up. And again, that was NOT my statement, I believe Bob (Bob if it wasn't you I am sorry for the applying it was you) made that statement and I was answering his post.

noname wrote:

Anyone who choses to drink and then gets into a car and drives is making a decision that they know could have dire consequences. This is why people who do this are put in jail. This is a crazy statement you are making. In your mind its o.k. if people drink and kill someone since their judgement was impaired????
<quoted text>

Bob, Again I am sorry, it was not you who said that , so please forgive me. It was "this is crazy" who said that
"You said on Friday that you would want anyone who causes an accident by DUI/DWI that kills or injures someone, to be put in jail for life.

Don't you think that should AT LEAST be the punishment for Trooper Higbee since he was not even Drunk? Higbee can't blame alcohol for his bad judgement, so that in a sense makes him look that much worse (not to mention how badly the Powerful Trooper organization and its "investigation", looks). "
I am sorry Bob, but once you click on reply it takes me to a new screen so I could not scroll up and see who wrote that. I just knew that I answered your post and someone elses this monring (this is crazy) and I couldn't remember which one said that.

noname wrote:

Anyone who choses to drink and then gets into a car and drives is making a decision that they know could have dire consequences. This is why people who do this are put in jail. This is a crazy statement you are making. In your mind its o.k. if people drink and kill someone since their judgement was impaired????
<quoted text>

noname,

Oh Please! Give me a break! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT I THINK ITS OK FOR PEOPLE TO DRIVE WHILE BEING DRUNK AND ALSO KILL PEOPLE WHILE BEING DRUNK???????If you do think this then you are the one who is crazy. If you do believe this then please show me where I SPECIFICALLY STATED this.

Boy, talk about reaching and making HUGE ASSUMPTIONS about what other people think.

What I am talking about is the degree of wrong doing. Obviously driving a car while being drunk is wrong for obvious reasons. In my opinion, I just think its SLIGHTLY worse for someone who is sober doing something wrong than some one who is not. That's all, its just my opinion.

Debbie D wrote:

This is crazy,
Look we can voice our opinions over and over again, and still not agree on what should and shouldn't be done. The only thing for sure is that the laws of each state will be used to dish out his punishment. It is not my fault that corruption is rampant in a lot of organizations, and I have said many times, get your family, friends, neighbors, etc... and got rally/lobby to change this and "clean house". if we speak loud enough and long enough to the right people, we together as citizens of the US can change laws and demand that laws be changed. Look at all the new laws enacted throughtout NJ and several other states, named after victims. But it can't be done sitting behind a computer screen venting your anger and to some insulting people. I have always said the laws apply to everyone, and no one should be treated different. Like I wrote to "family friend" is it fair when a police is killed and all other cases are forgotten about and a national manhunt is on for their killer, and then if caught he will get the death penalty. If they don't do that for the common people, why do it for the police forces? We are all equal, and if you break the law no matter who you are, your punishment should be the same as everyone else. As far as drunk vs sober, you make a decession when you leave your home to go out and drink, so therefore you are saying it is ok to drink and drive after drinking one or several drinks during the day/evening/night. so to me, MY OWN OPINION, Not the law, a drunk in an accident is worse then a sober person, for they made that choice to drink and drive. Being drunk is no excuse, you know the laws before you took your first drink and you know that it is against the law. Again my own opinion, no one else needs to agree with it.
<quoted text>

Debbie D,

You inferred that I insult people. Am I "insulting" because I have a different opinion in this debate? Please show me specifically where I "insult people".

You say that needed changes cannot be done through "sitting behind a computer screen and venting your anger" instead people need to "rally/lobby to change this and clean house".

I do agree with the rally/lobby part of this but I also believe keeping this discussion alive via the internet and "sitting behind my computer screen" is PART OF THE RALLYING/LOBBYING process. Since the mainstream media is NOT KEEPING THIS STORY ALIVE the only people who will keep this story alive are we the people BEHIND OUR COMPUTER SCREENS! Thank god for the internet where you don't have to be a media mogul to have a public voice!!!

Debbie D wrote:

noname, NO that is NOT what i am saying, had you read my other post, where I said that all people charged with DUI/DWI should spend the rest of their lives in jail. That they make the decession to drink and drive, the comment was made to me, that a drunk is NOT in their right mind or something to that effect, and a person such as Higbee can not use the excuse he was drunk so should be held more accountable for his actions. I have no respect for anyone driving under the influence of anything. ANd they should spend the rest of their lives in jail. For , they made a decession to get in their cars, go drink and then drive home. Or drink at home and get in their car and go someplace else. So if you want to drink, then stay out from behind the steering wheel. You mis-read my statement, it is NOT ok to drink and drive. never has been and never will be. And I said they needto spend the rest of their lives in jail. Go read my other post to "Family Friend" and see what i wrote. To me a person who drinks and drives that is intent to comitt and should spend the rest of their lives in prison. Here in PA last week, a man was finally, yes finally sentenced to 2 1/2 - 5 years in prison, it was his 10th yes tenth DUI charge, but this one was a fatal. So he finally got a sentence. he should have been thrown in jail for the first one, let alone him being arrested 9 more times. And each arrest he was involved in an accident that caused injuries, but the tenth one caused a fatal. The tenth accident should have never happen, nor the 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, had he been jailed after the first DUI accident. Our laws are screwed up. And again, that was NOT my statement, I believe Bob (Bob if it wasn't you I am sorry for the applying it was you) made that statement and I was answering his post.
<quoted text>

Debbie D,

Do you have a website address for this story where a guy killed someone after 10 DWI's? How can this guy get away with this many DWI's when after the 2nd DWI you are automatically suspended for 10 years and for EACH DWI after that one you are suspended another 10 years. This guy should have been suspended for at least 82 years. Also the mandatory jail time after the first DWI would stack up tremendously.

This is crazy - I came up with this in a web search. No fatality but ten dui arrests.
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP -- A parolee with nine prior drunken driving convictions was arrested on DUI charges early Saturday after leading police on a high-speed chase along MacDade Boulevard, police said. "He almost struck a police vehicle that was responding to a call," said Capt. Charles Howley, referring to parolee Mark Anthony Perrotta.
Perrotta, 42, was taken into custody and charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license, fleeing from police and related offenses, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Magisterial District Judge Edward J. Gannon arraigned Perrotta over the holiday weekend and remanded him to Delaware County’s prison in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.
At about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, hours after his wife posted his bail, Perrotta walked out of prison. At 4 p.m., after being notified of Perrotta’s release, the District Attorney’s office obtained a bench warrant for his arrest.
"I believe that he is dangerous and I want him off our roads," said District Attorney G. Michael Green.
Perrotta, who lives in the 400 block of Sycamore Avenue in the township’s Folsom section, is on parole after serving part of his 11½- to 23-month sentence imposed in 2003 for his ninth drunken driving conviction.
Despite his extensive history of DUI arrests and convictions, there was no detainer on file to keep him in custody, and county officials want to know why.
"It is my understanding that a detainer should have been lodged when he was arrested over the weekend," Green said. "His new arrest this past weekend is a violation of his April 2003 sentence."
According to prison board Solicitor Robert DiOrio, prior to releasing an inmate, prison officials check to see if there is a detainer lodged against the inmate. If there is not, and the bail set by the arraigning judge is posted, they are obligated to release the prisoner.
"If the inmate makes bail, you release the inmate unless there is a detainer against him," DiOrio said Tuesday. "In this case there was not a detainer."
Perrotta’s latest brush with the law took place early Saturday morning.
At about 3:07 a.m. Saturday, a police officer responding to a call saw a black 1999 Cadillac Escalade traveling at a high rate of speed along MacDade Boulevard near Milmont Avenue, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The Escalade was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes, the affidavit states.
When the officer activated his overhead emergency lights and siren and attempted to bring the Escalade to a stop, the driver of the SUV continued driving eastbound on MacDade. When he reached Monta Vista Avenue, the driver of the Escalade pulled over, police said.
As the officer approached the SUV, the driver, later identified as Perrotta, took off "in an attempt to elude the police officer," the affidavit states. As he fled, Perrotta tried to turn his SUV north on to Hazel Avenue, but his path was blocked by a police car.
Blocked in, Perrotta opened the driver’s side door. As he did, a police officer ran up and took the keys out of the ignition to stop him from driving any further.

According to the affidavit, Perrotta had "red bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was unable to stand on his own." Perrotta was placed under arrest and taken to Taylor Hospital where blood was drawn.
A check with PennDOT found that Perrotta’s driver’s license was canceled, suspended, revoked and expired.
His driving record indicated that this was the 10th arrest for DUI, the affidavit states.
Prosecutors are awaiting the results of blood tests taken at Taylor after his arrest.
The state’s new DUI statute that took effect Feb. 1, 2004, will apply to Perrotta’s latest arrest. If convicted, he could receive substantially more jail time, officials said.
Green said he has requested all of the information related to Perrotta’s parole and latest arrest from the appropriate agencies.
©DelcoTimes 2006

He has been sentenced to 41/2 to 8 years in jail.

Thanks for the information.

I also did a search and found similar articles.

Very interesting.

Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I wish a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.

Except of course to those corrupt NJ State Troopers where "celebrating Christmas" is an Oxymoron and a contradiction in terms.

here is an article that appeared in the Atlantic City Express, Cumberland County, Section on Dec. 23 & 24 for the internet. My point is the accident happened Aug 24, it tool this long to complete the investigation, and have a grand jury hear it. And I TOTALLY 1000% AGREE with the decession of the grand jury. Had the man not been driving on a revoke DL then the man that was with him wouldn't be dead today.
Salem driver indicted in death of passenger
(Published: December 23, 2006)
A grand jury has indicted a Salem County man accused of causing the death of another man when his car crashed in Upper Deerfield Township.
Bobby Smith, 57, of Quinton, stands charged with the third-degree crime of causing a passenger's death while driving with a revoked license.
The passenger in Smith's 1993 Ford station wagon, Robert L. Sanders, died five days after their Aug. 24 crash.
Smith told investigators after the crash that he'd been passing another vehicle on County Road 640 when his tire blew out, Cumberland County Prosecutor Ron Casella said Friday. Smith's car then spun off the road and into a nearby field, where authorities found it 50 feet from the road. The crash took place around 8:30 p.m.
Sanders, 50, was airlifted to Cooper Health System in Camden, where he died of his injuries. Smith received treatment at South Jersey Healthcare Elmer Hospital before being released.
It wasn't clear Friday what specific injury caused Sanders' death. Court records did not indicate what the car hit and what caused the fatality.
The charge carries up to five years in prison, if Smith is convicted. He has not been offered a plea bargain yet, Casella said.
Court records showed no record of any witnesses to the accident, though Smith claimed to police he'd been trying to pass another vehicle.
Smith was not under the influence while driving, Casella said.

I stand corrected Atlantic City Press

well go back to Sunday Dec. 17 and read where you said I was losing my mind, that is an insult! So if you agree on Lobby/rallying have you got a petition together and out in your community getting people to sign it, have you went to your local officails with this matter, or if you feel they are corrupted also, gone public with this. Asked the local channel 40, or one of the four Philly news stations to come down and do a report about the corruption in and among the NJSP and Cape May County DA's Office. You wrote I beleive that ALSO sitting behind my computer screen is also keeping it alive and a type of rallying/lobby" Well no it really isn't. Because it is not getting regonized in the news, paapers, etc... If you really hate and beleive that the majority of NJSP are corrupt and also Cape May County is, then get out there and change the laws. All citizens should obey and respect the law, no matter what their title is or if they are just normal comon everyday people. the law was made for everyone to obey. Not just a chosen few.As to the main insults I was talking about was the ones who was calling me by a different name then my ID. Which happens to be my real name, I didn't hide under an assume name.

This is crazy wrote:

<quoted text>
Debbie D,
You inferred that I insult people. Am I "insulting" because I have a different opinion in this debate? Please show me specifically where I "insult people".
You say that needed changes cannot be done through "sitting behind a computer screen and venting your anger" instead people need to "rally/lobby to change this and clean house".
I do agree with the rally/lobby part of this but I also believe keeping this discussion alive via the internet and "sitting behind my computer screen" is PART OF THE RALLYING/LOBBYING process. Since the mainstream media is NOT KEEPING THIS STORY ALIVE the only people who will keep this story alive are we the people BEHIND OUR COMPUTER SCREENS! Thank god for the internet where you don't have to be a media mogul to have a public voice!!!

Unfortunately Debbie D changing the laws is not so easy or possible. Corruption is so deeply entrenched in the NJSP and the political structure as well, that it is impossible to change short of a revolution which of course no one wants; but I do agree we must have a change.

Debbie D wrote:

well go back to Sunday Dec. 17 and read where you said I was losing my mind, that is an insult! So if you agree on Lobby/rallying have you got a petition together and out in your community getting people to sign it, have you went to your local officails with this matter, or if you feel they are corrupted also, gone public with this. Asked the local channel 40, or one of the four Philly news stations to come down and do a report about the corruption in and among the NJSP and Cape May County DA's Office. You wrote I beleive that ALSO sitting behind my computer screen is also keeping it alive and a type of rallying/lobby" Well no it really isn't. Because it is not getting regonized in the news, paapers, etc... If you really hate and beleive that the majority of NJSP are corrupt and also Cape May County is, then get out there and change the laws. All citizens should obey and respect the law, no matter what their title is or if they are just normal comon everyday people. the law was made for everyone to obey. Not just a chosen few.As to the main insults I was talking about was the ones who was calling me by a different name then my ID. Which happens to be my real name, I didn't hide under an assume name. <quoted text>

American for Justice,
yes I agree it is NOT an easy task to do, and it involves many hours of your time and cost of travel etc...And one person can not do it alone. But if enough people write to the newspapers and get the TV stations involved, and I know for sure, Channel 29, Fox from Philly is a great one for doing exactly these kinds of interviews. if you/we rally enough in front of the state capital, then someone has to listen and try to do something to stop this corruption through out all oraganizations. we are the people, our taxes pay them their paychecks, we vote, we have a VOICE. But it can't be done from sitting behind a computer screen. A group of us here in delaware county, are gettting our stuff together about CYS (I beleive in NJ it is called something else, CYS is Children and Youth Services) and once we have completed our petetions and have our press release ready we will be taking our story to the news media.

American for Justice wrote:

Unfortunately Debbie D changing the laws is not so easy or possible. Corruption is so deeply entrenched in the NJSP and the political structure as well, that it is impossible to change short of a revolution which of course no one wants; but I do agree we must have a change.
<quoted text>

FAMILY FRIEND wrote:

Yugocif,
I agree with you. However, Higbee is a coward and a flaming asshole.(excuse my language). He is to stupid to do what is right but the family of those poor girls will pursue this to the fullest extent to make sure that the dummy Higbee received his just and deserved punishment.
<quoted text>

Yes, Mister Star Athelete is sure hiding behind someone's skirts lik a scared little boy

Interesting to see that Saddam Hussein will meet justice and the offender Trooper probably won't