Posted on 12/29/2010 8:50:55 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
McALLEN Hidalgo County should ban funeral processions, county District Attorney Rene Guerra said Thursday.
A fatal crash during a funeral procession Wednesday has led to questions about the safety of the motorcades, where law enforcement officers guide traffic by blocking intersections. A Hidalgo County Precinct 2 constables deputy hit and killed an Alamo woman Wednesday when the deputys cruiser t-boned the vehicle she was traveling in.
Guerra said hes been concerned about funeral processions for years now, but Wednesdays crash has revived the debate and sharpened his concerns.
I was afraid that what happened yesterday would happen, he said.
Escorting funeral processions has become increasingly dangerous because there are many careless drivers who disregard the escorts, Guerra said. Processions also require a lot of man power and its unclear where the acquired funds should go, he added.
One of the questions raised earlier was if the constables could keep the money or if they should turn it over to the county, especially when county officials are involved, he said about the fees funeral homes pay the constables. There is also a debate about whether the money should be considered a donation or a payment, he added.
Its a situation that creates a problem for everybody involved in a funeral procession, Guerra said. I think that if funeral homes would calculate how much time it takes individuals to get out to the cemeteries after the services, people would be easily buried and everybody would have a chance to attend the funeral (without a procession).
But the processions he would like to see banned are deeply embedded in the Rio Grande Valleys culture, said Marc Gonzalez, funeral director for Rivera Funeral Home in McAllen.
A lot of people are used to following the hearse and having a procession instead of just saying Well meet at the church, he said. If they ban escorts, I know it will get some people upset.
Funeral homes usually contract peace officers, such as police officers and constables deputies, for the processions, Gonzalez said, because they are the only ones authorized by law to stop and direct traffic. But funeral homes also have another alternative: private escort companies. Rivera Funeral home usually contracts the service from a local company, except when the family of the deceased requests the constables or other law enforcement agencies, Gonzalez said.
Some funeral homes in bigger cities, like Dallas, have actually stopped offering the services because traffic can become quite heavy, he added.
Even with escorts some people out there are just in a rush, he said. They wont slow down or theyll try to beat the procession.
Another important issue to consider is how the lines will be drawn if the processions are banned, Gonzalez said.
What happens when you have a high ranking official who passes away, and here come (city police) and county officials providing an escort, but yet for regular people they cant have one, Gonzalez said. That could be another problem.
If youre going to do it, youre going to have to do it across the board for everybody.
Guerra said he understands that many see processions as a way to honor the dead but the issue deserves to be reviewed.
Im sure theres a few who are used to the processions, but I think its something we have to look at, he said. I think the loss of one life is too many.
Pharr police have not released the victims identity and are still investigating the accident, said Sgt. Santiago Solis. The deputy, who was being treated for non-life threatening injuries, is out of the hospital and the condition of the other driver is unknown, he said.
Investigators are waiting for blood-test results, which are always administered when a fatality is involved, he added.
Its all going to depend on the complete investigation and the blood results, he said. And if everything comes back clean, most likely there wont be (any charges filed).
Police, however, will submit the report to Guerras office, and it will make the final decision, Solis said.
“One with a fully stocked bar?”
You are related to my family on the Irish side, right?! LOL
lolol.
Maybe the hearse shoulda pulled in for a carwash!
I’m betting those girls woulda stopped shaking those pom-poms then!
lolol....
If it turns out that the driver of the vehicle the woman was riding in failed to yield the right away will you retract your knee jerk conclusion?
...and casseroles!
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Now you’re talking! Some of the best meals I’ve ever had were the meals the church ladies served up after the funeral.
Lots of cars do not have antenna anymore, except for the type which is disguised inside the windshield molding. Funeral homes in our neck of the woods provide those joining the procession with magnetic roof mount funeral flags which are hard to miss. We are in a “buffer zone” between Pittsburgh and the “T”, the rural area of Pennsylvania which is still very traditional, civilized and traditional.
I live 12 blocks from a national cemetery. Every day the entrance to my neighborhood is blocked several times for funeral processions to pass. Sometimes I’m late for something and must wait. However, these are the families of men and women who fought for our country or their spouses who sacrificed so they could fight for our country. It puts it in perspective really fast.
No matter who the deceased is, going to any cemetery, what skin is it off my nose to politely wait as the mourners go to the graveside. Have we become so hardened that we can’t even put ourselves in another’s shoes for a couple of minutes?
Having been in unfamiliar cities for funerals, I’m grateful for the procession to take me to the graveside.
Where I come from, with the exception of huge funerals (e.g., for cops or firefighters killed in the line of duty) funeral processions are routinely done without any police or private escort.
Everybody just puts on their lights (or in some cases their hazard lights), the hearse leads the way and every driver follows the car in front of him, and traffic laws are obeyed. It doesn’t seem all that complicated.
Not necessarily, but I have read reasoning where that is argued and makes sense.
Large societies will need some extra regulation for efficiency and speed. Otherwise, no. Government regulation should always be looked at from the standpoint that it is interference with rights of man (in free society). Then, you have to cautiously weigh the results/risks.
Some people argue that red lights at intersections have killed more people than it has saved. In my family, three people have been seriously harmed because they trusted people to stop at a red light. Drunk in one case, but unlicensed in other case. (Regulations/Rules aren’t followed...hmmm)
There are people who have been so “protective” of babies (helmets, seat belts) and children, that people no longer have common sense about anything because they never experienced “falling” or “getting hurt”. Their coordination is also well below average and their survival instinct is muted and made slower than it should be. Because of “worry” about “safety” we now have obese children who don’t move. Competition in schools is eliminated.
Our society is destroying manly behavior because of their “protectiveness” but then I believe that government is trying to kill that instinct in man—to be risk takers and innovators and brave and courageous. They don’t want men in America like the John Waynes, Wright Bros., Edisons, Franklins—no no, can’t have real manly men—they might get hurt and DIE. Besides, THOSE are the people who won’t allow others to make them slaves and servants. Can’t have those type of people in bambi’s “America”.
I have actually been in 30-40 funeral processions over the past five years and have witnessed countless acts of bad behavior by fellow motorists
Some of the processions stretched out to 80 - 100 vehicles and the routes were well in excess of 10 miles. Quite a few times, the end cars lost the procession because someone didn't keep up, then other traffic started to flow and interfered.
While the hearse will travel at a constant speed; not so the bunched up cars behind. By the time one gets to the last few cars that are playing stop and go because of the accordion wave effect that grows back through the line.
During one such recent procession, over hill and dale, one of the motorists hesitated when the traffic light turned red causing several vehicles about 6 -8 cars back to go bang, bang, bang into each other in rapid sequence.
Not a pretty sight to see what was a $35,000 vehicle destroyed so quickly in what should have been a nice slow casual drive to the cemetary. Another concern is the over-zealous deputies that want to run their sirens as they streak past on the left, up to the next intersection. On a divided highway, the sirens are unnecessary. the entire procession sees their lights, and their noise is just so upsetting.
But what really gets my gall, is the impatient motorist, with total disrespect that will turn into a procession and try to work through it just to pass it.
Okay, I have vented now.
(e.g., for cops or firefighters killed in the line of duty)
I would make an exception for these cases. This is a PUBLIC display of sorrow and respect, not personal.
At one time it was understood that someone had just left this life and, even if you don’t believe in an afterlife, respect for the dead and their family’s loss was enough to cause people to allow a funeral procession to pass unrestricted.
You don’t seem to understand the seriousness of death and the weight that it carries to a family. Maybe you’re young or maybe you just don’t get it yet, but you will eventually. It’s not a point of honoring someone’s achievements, but respecting the fact that someone’s life has ended and their time on Earth is over.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in a procession to Fort Sam National Cemetary. My parents, my in-laws, my neighbors and many friends are buried there.
And one thing you probably know about these National Cemetaries: YOU WILL NOT BE LATE.
EVER.
The funeral homes work very closely with Fort Sam to insure they will be at the commital site at the exact time and then leave 30 minutes later. No messing around.
Fort Sam can handle 20-30 burials (or more) each day. But you better watch the clock.
And because of this.... Processions are almost a necessity. Funeral service at 10:00 - gravesite services at 11:30 - meet back at the home or church for lunch at 12:30.
Is that selfish of me? Absolutely. But the demand for a procession that would incovenience more non-participants than the number of participants is equally selfish.
To my recollection, I’ve only seen one funeral procession in person. It was for a fallen police officer and since it was full of patrol vehicles was hard to miss.
I need to know more about the driver of the T-Boned Civic.
Biker rallies are next . . .
How you make the leap from my comments to the idea that I don’t believe in an afterlife is just amazing.
I need to know more about the driver of the T-Boned Civic.
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Sounds like you know more than we do. How do you know she was driving a Civic?
Anyhoo. She’s dead. I wonder if her funeral will include a procession?
Jus’ wonderin’.
This tells me all I need to know about you.
You think you’re more important than anyone or anything else and how dare someone get in your way with their silly funeral.
I hope you have to deal with a funeral in your own life soon, just so you know how it feels. Make sure you don’t inconvienence anyone along the way either, they’re more important than your silly bereavement.
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