Posted on 10/28/2024 6:33:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
An Australian tourist was sentenced to two months in jail and probation after a fatal crash on the Peninsula that killed an elderly couple last year, according to the district attorney.
Luke Nardini, 32, entered a no-contest plea to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for the Sept. 1, 2023, crash that killed Jack and Linda Davis, both 80 years old, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said. Nardini received a two-month jail sentence and probation.
SNIP
Early in the investigation, prosecutors said Nardini, accustomed to Australian traffic lanes that are opposite of those in the U.S., forgot where he was and drove on the wrong side of the road.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktvu.com ...
Victims were old and Republicans ... it is Ca. justice.
Anne Sacoolas got an eight-month suspended prison sentence in the uk for doing something similar. She fled the UK back to America.
Maybe, too strict. Sometimes, accidents are just accidents. Almost all of them could be avoided one way or another. We have a traffic system that tolerates almost 30,000 deaths per year.
Alcohol caused wrecks, and high-speed reckless driving/racing accidents should be prosecuted as felonies in most states.
What is just these days? Not much.
I don’t think so. If anything, I think the perp should have been deported and given a decade long sentence back in Australia 🇦🇺.
“misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter”?
I am from the U.S., but I don’t agree with the U.S. protecting her. As gar as I remember, she never served any sentence, since she never returned to U.K. since shortly after the accident. The main difference between that case and this one is Diplomatic Immunity.
“Tolerates?” Wrong word there. Any suggestions on your “tolerance?”
The U.S. can’t control what they do in Australia. He would have to serve the sentence, and then be deported.
I did not drive when I was in the U.K., because I was worried about this. It’s okay, if someone is wreckless?
Many years ago, I landed at Manchester, England on a business trip and rented a car. As I was leaving the airport, I came to a tee intersection to turn right. Turned right into the right lane and WHOA — a car was coming right at me for a head-on. I pulled to the right as fast as I could onto the shoulder and beyond, narrowly missing the head-on collision. I sat there shaking for quite a while. I’d driven in England many times before that and thought I had the left-side driving mastered. That sure put the scare into me.
Is this just? I honestly don’t know. There but for God’s grace could have been me.
There but for the grace of God go I. Just got back from driving a rental car in Japan - left side there. Man, there were several instances where I instinctively went to the right, even when I was focused on “staying left.” It demanded intense focus, especially in city driving. More than once my wife screamed, “Wrong lane. Move left!!”
Negative. They are crashes where one or both actors are liable.
Crashes due violations of traffic laws, negligence, impairment and those not legal to drive for medical reasons.
Sure, she claimed it, but it never truly applied to her. She nor her husband were in the diplomatic field and she fled, which gave up her immunity if she had it.
Have driven in Australia (quoth an Aussie acquaintance: “You drove in Sydney? I don’t bloody drive in Sydney!”), New Zealand, and all over the UK. The first 24 to 48 hours dealing with your driving instincts being all wrong are nerve racking. Intersections and traffic circles are the worst. Then you adapt. But unless you’re drunk or extremely careless you’re not going to end up in the wrong lane on a stretch of highway. I would suspect this guy was one or both.
We need to convert to self driving cars like they do in Phoenix and SF. Death will be pedestrians and fewer of them. Walkers will have to be more careful. That’s good.
I feel the same way.
I'm not reckless, but would still be worried about causing a wreck.
Regards,
WOW HAS AUSTRAKIA CHANGED...OR WHAT????????
I thought they were more civilized than the rest of the continent.
THEY ARE WORSE.
I think a bit harsh... But the place the vehicle was rented from should not be allowed to rent to people without an AMERICAN license or permit, especially from nations where they drive on the other side of the road.
This happened to a friend of mine. He was in court with the rental company for almost a decade.
We sold one of my high school friends our old family car (1985 Olds Delta 88) on the cheap as a favor, and three months later it gets hit by a Brit driving straight into him, the wrong way, making a left turn at a four-way stop. This was back in about 2005. Based on Kelly BB value, it was totaled, but still driveable. For the next two years he drove it without an opening driver’s door, but it kept getting hit while parked and while he had the right-of-way. He did eventually have to scrap it.
I grew up in that car, so I cried like I was a little girl again.
I’m also a crash magnet like that, it seems. I’ve lost three cars to accidents not my fault in twenty years, but not like that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.