Posted on 03/15/2026 8:18:05 PM PDT by xxqqzz
ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) - A Florida judge sentenced a 70-year-old man to 37 years in prison Wednesday for a 2023 crash that killed four members of one family.
Richard Ferguson was convicted in October 2025 of manslaughter after prosecutors said he allowed his unlicensed 15-year-old son to drive his car. Authorities said the teen, who did not have a permit, crashed into another vehicle, killing three children and their grandmother.
(Excerpt) Read more at local12.com ...
Doesn’t have to be that specific. I see kids in my municipal court all the time whose parents let them drive the car at age 13-15, and the excuse is virtually always, “I’m so busy, I can’t be taking him/her everywhere, the kid’s a good driver, he was picking up my medications”, etc. We’ve taken to ticketing the parents for allowing an unicensed person to operate a motor vehicle, on top of the kid’s unlicensed driver ticket and whatever else (speeding, running stop sign, etc.).
“I see kids in my municipal court all the time”
I am 79 and have never noticed an underage driver alone or with friends.
I had a driving license at 15.
Re: underage drivers.
If it wasn’t for airbags, seatbelts, crumple zones, etc. there would be more yearly automotive deaths than at the height of covid. Oh, wait there were.
Anyways, with all the psycho-active drugs ppl are on nowadays, cell phone usage and lack of car deaths in media it’s a warzone out there. More ppl died weekly in car accidents than in Iraq and Afghanistan at their height. But only local media on that.
I’m retired early due to being rear-ended on a nearly empty road. Jackass was texting his F-buddy date heading out for the evening rather than looking at the only other car on the road, in front of him.
Cars are designed for front impact moreso than rear so my car took most damage. Airhead had done this before. Now he rides a motorcycle. He’ll be an organ donor eventually if he isn’t already.
Bad math. He was 55 not 45.
70-15=55
I used to hear this all the time at the high school I worked at - kids told me they allowed by parents to drive unsupervised at ages 14 and 15.
Our roads are dangerous enough with unlicensed, uninsured, untrained drivers who cause all kinds of horrific accidents.
No problem with the parent being prosecuted if he knowingly let the kid drive.
Whwn I was about 13-14 my friend’s Mom let him buy a car with his own money. A ‘64 Belvedere, I believe. We used to drive it up and down his street, a dead end in a sparse CT neighborhood. Thrill of my life as an early teen. No deaths occured..
Numbers aside, the actual topic being looked at is May and December type
marriages. That’s all I’m looking at for this discussion.
Besides, I left my abacus somewhere in the linen closet.
I hope the bride was 20.
The “kid” should have been sentenced to 37 years and the 70 year old father to 3 years.
Regards,
Oops. Sorry
I think we should revisit a minor’s responsibility when it comes to breaking laws. The sentencing should be reversed. 15 is not 8; at 15, one should understand consequences. Dad didn’t give the son the keys to deliberately go out and kill people, but he’s facing a death penalty as if he kidnapped, tortured and killed his son’s victims. What’s the son going to learn from that? That the system gamed the system for him so that he only received a few years while dad will probably die in prison.
Alexander, I recognize the sarcasm, b/c on other sites, under other names, I can be just as Impish and purposely triggering as you can. But the original poster of the remark; ridesthemiles, must have felt she had been
drawn and quartered or publicly stoned by people she had thought were her friends.
Alex, when I use the noun ‘You’ in this following paragraph, I am speaking in the general sense. Please do not take anything personally. I, for one, have learned to enjoy your wry sense of humor.
You guys who responded to that post just didn’t let up, and that (the math) wasn’t even the main topic of the article.
So many different attacks over something so minor. It was w/o empathy or mercy. Why treat another FR poster like a pinata?
Sometimes we all make academic errors, but guess what, it’s not going to effect anyone’s life in the real world. It’s simply a statement. Try not to let your ego get the best of you, while loudly crowing that you found a ‘mistake’ another FR poster just made. I certainly step on my share of rakes on this forum, but I take my bruises and keep going.
Exactly. The person who commits the crime is the one who should pay for it. If giving a 15 year-old car keys is a crime, then give an appropriate sentence for that. It can certainly be harsher if the person knows the teen doesn’t know how to drive. In Florida, 15 is when you get your restricted license, so most in that age group know the rules. Ignoring a stop sign and speeding are hardly obscure.
I am sorry you were given such a hard time yesterday.
To me, it was overly aggressive and just plain mean.
I left a post referring to that type of needless trashing of another FR poster.
My comment is left on Post #74.
It was addressed to another poster still going at it this morning. There was nothing I could do to stop the attack, so I stayed away for a few hours and returned today to mention how we should respect each other more and show some empathy
.
Sometimes I get jumped on too. I usually just ignore it, but once in a while, I will throw that hot poison right back if it is unjustified, and I will like doing it.
I hope yesterday’s juvenile Pile On does not keep you from posting your thoughts in the future. You are a woman of great wisdom who has seen a great deal during your life.
Take Care,
Lee.
Words to the wise!
In my own defense, I think that I was "triggered" less by the faulty math, and more by the implication that 70-year-old men couldn't or shouldn't be the fathers of teenage children. (The multiple exclamation marks in the post of ridesthemiles does lend some credence to that interpretation.) I, myself, fall into that category.
I accept that I may occasionally and inadvertently "step on toes" on this site, but "drawing and quartering" or "publicly stoning" is something I reserve for only the most-egregious orthographic errors!
Regards,
I saw your /s and raised you one. Cheers..
“The question I have does this verdict set a precedent that drivers with unlicensed family members need to lock up their car keys?”
He gave the keys to his son. Watched as the son drove off with his friends.
of course I didn’t read the entire article.
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