Or a cigarette. Now THAT would have warranted a 911 call.
Posted on 12/06/2005 6:48:03 AM PST by southernnorthcarolina
WASHINGTON - A 73-year-old man who received a $5 jaywalking ticket after he was struck by a car later died from his injuries, police said Monday.
Charles Atherton, a former secretary of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts that advises the government on architecture and design in official Washington, was hit Thursday while crossing busy Connecticut Avenue. He died Saturday night at George Washington University Hospital.
Although witnesses said he was badly injured and unresponsive at the scene, police issued him the ticket. His family found it with his belongings when they went to the hospital.
"We knew it was a serious injury, but we didn't know it was life-threatening," police Capt. Willie Smith told The Washington Post in a story for Tuesday editions. He said officers would not have issued the ticket "if we knew he was going to die."
Police said they determined Atherton was at fault when he was hit by a car driven by a 31-year-old woman.
Atherton was secretary of the presidentially appointed commission for 40 years and reviewed countless proposed monuments and projects in the capital, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the National World War II Memorial.
Glad the cop had his priorities straight. I mean, the guy is bleeding from his head where it struck the windshield, struggling to breathe, but he appears concious so better write out the ticket. After all, in the 10 minutes or so required to fill out the paperwork takes priority over urgent medical care.
Or a cigarette. Now THAT would have warranted a 911 call.
Or, "Wonder how much damage he did to the car?"
The only purpose for the ticket, as I see it, is to protect the woman who hit him. It protects her, somewhat, from lawsuits and establishes a claim for the damages to her car. I really don't think it is a big deal...
If it's the fine or the thirty days, I bet he takes the thirty days.
It isn't really a big deal.
I'm no lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but an unsigned ticket is proof of nothing but an accusation of some violation. A cop's report, eye witnesses, etc., should serve to protect the driver. To me it seems stupid and represents the lack of common sense among some LEOs to issue a ticket to an injured person that they would never issue if he hadn't been hit. Too many laws and rules and regulation and not enough common sense.
Besides, we've all heard stories of criminals breaking into a house and getting themselves shot and then suing the homeowner. The B&E conviction not withstanding, the homeowner still winds up in court. If that's the case, I don't see how a $5 ticket against the dead guy protects the driver.
The police don't apparently agree with you, because they said if they expected him to die, they wouldn't have written the ticket, In which case the family of the deceased would have been in a much better position to sue.
bingo.
If that ticket were not there, the family would have already received a roomful of mail from trolling lawyers looking to sue. The ticket established liability.
As goofy as this is and sounds, the cops did the right thing.
Kick em when they're up...kick em when they're down....
. . . kick 'em when they're stiff, kick ,em all around . . .
"If the man violated the law"
It's not a law it's a regulation.
Injured or dead, the probability of a law suit is the same. Issuing a ticket proves negligence and mostly eliminates any chance for a victory.
Thanks, Perry Mason.
" Thanks, Perry Mason."
Sorry, I don't know why I did that. The devil got me.
I know why you did it. You know I have a confidence problem and you deliberately set out to make me feel stupid.
I know this is true because my wife told me it was.
thats soo messed up...Like what did they do write him the ticket as he was lying in the street, waiting 4 emergency assistance?..maybe that's way he died instead of calling 4 help the officer was 2 busy writing his ticket
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