Posted on 09/05/2019 7:19:06 PM PDT by familyop
The man and a passenger told police that as the Escalade pulled alongside their vehicle, they heard a loud pop and the rear window shatter. They said they believed the driver of the Escalade was shooting at them...A grand jury in Dallas County will review evidence in the case and decide whether to indict the pickup truck’s driver. “This shooting is a tragic example of senseless road rage, impacting the lives of numerous people in multiple families,” police wrote in the statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I can understand how they could easily think they were under fire at that point.
“Too lazy to open article. How many people died?”
One click to open article. How many to make your post and read responses?
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If the guy driving the Escalade was driving the speed limit and the other driver came out of a side street without stopping and caused the Escalade driver to either lock up his brakes or swerve into a tree, what would you call that? Being ‘cut off’ would seem pretty accurate to me. Obviously I don't know what happened but I'm guessing the guy didn't throw the bottle because the other guy looked at him the wrong way. It certainly is possible, but I'd bet the shooter initiated the altercation by doing something pretty foolish. I'd also add that he is probably lying by omission when he said that he noticed the Escalade driving erratically as though he had no idea why. Just my common sense talking.
Honest, it’s the ads that kill me.
It can take minutes for a page to download.
FR is so fast because it’s just text.
I gotta download an ad blocker.
I’m not in the mood for a brawl on that thread, but self defense?!!!?!
No.
I pulled out in traffic and a guy with his wife pulled around me and flipped me off. Murphys’s law being what it is I pulled alongside him to make a left hand turn at the next light. He flipped me off again, I laughed, blew him a kiss, and mouthed have a nice day. Then Mr Walther and I turned and went on our way. Shooting someone for flipping you off or throwing a bottle is not going to turn out well.
Is this the one where the dead guy ran into the Starbucks by the old Wet N Wild?
“I think my first impulse would have been to hit the gas and get the heck out of there.”
Agreed. And perhaps that is what the pickup truck driver did. But then the Escalade caught up to him and pulled alongside him again, and perhaps the pickup driver was stuck in traffic.
I know - a lot of “perhaps” in there! It sounds like the widow might be the shooters best witness for the defense.
By the way, if the back window of the truck was completely broken and the driver’s head was exposed - even chucking another bottle at the driver could have been deadly. And surely would have been assault, and justified shooting in self defense.
“And by the way, there’s no such traffic infraction as “cutting off,””
Of course not. If it was observed by a cop as blatant and intentional it would be written up as reckless driving.
Nope, I ain't him.
“Michigan civil infraction code 2650
Change lanes to interfere.”
“Lane change to interfere” is related to various improper lane changes. Quite a few cases show that as an infraction committed by people who ran into others or caused others to change lanes to avoid being hit. I don’t see “cut” or “off” in that part of the statute. We haven’t defined “cutting” “off,” yet.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/OffenseCode_73877_7.pdf
Let’s try a hypothetical. This happens all the time on our highways. You need to get somewhere fast. Someone in front of you gets into the left lane to pass another vehicle, even though you were trying to get there first. And you knew that person saw you trying to get there first! That person is driving far slower than you and is very slowly passing the vehicle that is in the right lane. So you are coerced to slow down by that person who got into the left lane in front of you. How do you feel about that?
I don't have feelings. Three ex wives told me that.
Well, he was driving an “Escalade”!!
It doesn’t matter. Reckless driving is whatever the cop says it is.
You know how you’re driving a reasonable speed (say, the speed limit, 70 mph) in the left lane, sometimes, and someone comes off of a ramp and gets in front of you at only about 40 mph? Isn’t that frustrating? How would you feel, if occupants of that vehicle were laughing at you through their back window?
You can shoot someone because you’re feelings are hurt or they made you angry or broke your stuff. If you use “Deadly Force” to get even that may not be acceptable. I recommend a book by Mossad Ayoob to anyone considering using it. It’s “Deadly Force” by Ayoob. Not to you in particular, just a general comment to the masses.
Regarding “cutting off” - I envision being in the right hand lane, and some moron (coming from either side) swerves in front of me WAYYYY too close to my bumper, forcing me to hit the brakes.
THAT is “cutting off”. No, its probably NOT an offense by that name - but it IS an offense by the name of reckless (or unsafe) driving, or passing too close, etc.
“Cutting off” is merely the layman’s description of the act of reckless driving in the above scenario....
... having gotten that out of the way, I have read the story and (of course) the blame is on both sides.
My wife is the gentlest soul I have ever known - but when she is behind the wheel and someone cuts her off, you wouldn’t know it. My comment to her in those situations is: “You see that he/she is nuts, slow down, let them go on their way (and get into an accident with someone else).
That’s what I practice in those situations. WHATEVER the pickup driver did (the alleged “cutting off”), the second guy should NOT have started tailing him (not to mention should not have thrown the bottle).
Put another way: 1 Moron = Traffic Infraction; 2 Morons = Tragedy;
This was the case of the latter. BOTH these guys behaved like morons. One is dead, the other likely heading to jail.
Moral of the story: DON’T BE A MORON (on the road or anywhere else).
Anyone who drives slower than you is an ‘idiot’
Anyone who drives faster than you is a ‘maniac’
-George Carlin
On the street, yes. That’s true. ;)
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