Be Careful Out There

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by Dottore

The police took a detailed statement from me, promised “to look into it” and “get back to me”. But my guess is they’re not going to press charges based on my statement alone, and this really pi$$es me off.

get your act together and make sure the family knows all about you.

This guy could be looking at a tab of over a million bucks.

medical will save him and then the insurance co's fuch with his head forever if they can get away with it.

With your testimony people will pay until they bleed.

[MotoSook]

Do the human thing and persue this to the right end. If the rider passes without you doing anything to shed light on his misfortune, you will be partly responsible for his misfortune.

I would contact the PD and talk to the reporting officer's CO, and submit a formal statement to be included with the police report. If that doesn't work, go higher. I'm a little surprised the officer didn't take your statement more seriously.


As a rider, this is the thing I fear the most: some careless driver being grossly negligent. In my opinion, the driver should be prosecuted for endangerment of a human lift or worst for manslaughter. No other act but driving do we tolerate the carelessness of the operator. If a fork lift driver or a crane operator were to be the least bit careless and cause a fatal accident, they would be accountable.

[RWebb]

yes, inform the bike rider - IN WRITING

his Ins. Co. (if he has one) will surely check her cell co. to see if she was on a cell phone at the time, but that isn't really enough

telling the police was a good first step

YOu will actually be helping the young woman - she needs a wake up call before she kills someone

and this story is one reason I don't kide a m/c anymore

[jyl]

Don't act like a witness who is eager to get involved to nail the driver. Your credibility will be important.

I would not contact the motorcyclist or his family. He or his next of kin will consult a lawyer, the lawyer will get the police report, and your name, contact information, and statement will be on it.

I think the odds of no-one bothering to contact you, and the driver's negligence going unnoticed, are pretty low.

I would drive by the spot and take another look, to cement exactly what happened in your memory. Including your best estimate of how fast the motorcyclist was going, and how fast the driver was going.

If you haven't been contacted in a few months, then I guess you might try to find out what happened to the motorcyclist. But I doubt an accident and injuries like this will just slip through the cracks.

[Dantilla]

I was a witness to an accident a few years back, and was subsequently contacted by both insurance companies to make a recorded statement. My statement was critical to determining liability.

A bit later, I was contacted by an attorney who was representing the person at fault. I gave him the same story, and he proceesed to ask me if I was sure, because I could possibly be subpoenad to testify, "and that could be very uncomfortable" (Wink-wink) He, without saying it blatently, asked my to change the story to help his case.

"I'd be happy to testify!"

Not the rersponse he wanted, I guess, because I never heard another word from him.

I was glad to do my part- You won't be sorry for simply telling the right people what happened.

[livi]

Well done! Whether your good intentions lead to anything or not, its the honest thought that counts. Good man.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by speeder

In a perfect world, you would have been able to shoot her on the spot.

Maybe somewhere in the Middle East, you could. Maybe you could bury her up to her waist in the ground, and then cover her with a sheet, and then throw rocks at her. Maybe you could just get a 30 or 40 people to kick her to death. Maybe behead her.


I'm a rider, and I understand your anger ,but for sometimes you gotta maybe -not- type what you're thinking, man.

[jeffgrant]

Good job!

Did it happen here in BC? I've found that in a very serious case like this, the cops sometimes wait to see the prognosis of the biker, after which they talk to the Crown, before laying any charges.

They generally like to make sure they have all of their ducks in order before proceeding so that the person can't get off on a technicality, and get charged with the appropriate crime.

For now, they'll probably treat it like a generic traffic accident.

I know someone who was killed in a similar incident in Ontario, but he took about 3 weeks to die while in the hospital. The day after he passed, the cops charged the other driver with vehicular manslaughter (or something like that). He was in jail, with no bail, for a few months before the trial, and ended up doing 12 years or so, if I remember correctly.


Hopefully the chick rots in jail for at least a few months as a result of her negligence.

[Jeff Alton]

First off, thanks for getting involved. I ride a bike too and thank you for doing what you did.

Call ICBC and give them the details and a copy of your statement that you gave to the police.

Call the RCMP detachment and ask to speak to the platoon supervisor who was on duty when the accident occured. Confirm with him/her that your statement has made the report.

Contact the rider and pass on any relevant info you can. As the only apparant witness, it very well could ride on on your statement.

IF you get the brush off from the RCMP or ICBC, write your local paper or the Province newspaper.

Cheers

[genrex]

Get a copy of the police report.

Here in Seattle, you can get a copy of a police report for $6... about the price of a venti mocha. You fill out a request form and pay the fee, then go back the next day and pick it up. Why get information second-hand? You can verify with your own eyes that your name is on it, and you can also read the police report for yourself. Could be very interesting..

Thank you!

[David]

As I was laying in the street after hitting a car that pulled out in front of me a guy came up and said he was in a hurry but that he witnessed it all. He leaned down, unzipped my jacket pocket and put his business card inside. There were already other people helping me so he didn't need to help and no he wasn't a lawyer. Obviously the gesture had a big impact on me.

Like others have said, find the guy and give him your info.

[KFC911]

I rarely ride due to "idiot drivers"...absolutely follow through with the great suggestions you've been given already.

[MRM]

The police report idea is excellent. That should have everyone's contact information on it. Some of the report might be witheld because of privacy issues, but the rest will be public record.

Some day the two insurance companies will call you. It won't be today, it might not be tomorrow, it will probably be a long time from now. Makes sure you know which company is calling when you talk to them. Tell your story from begining to end.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by RoninLB

get your act together and make sure the family knows all about you.

This guy could be looking at a tab of over a million bucks.

medical will save him and then the insurance co's fuch with his head forever if they can get away with it.

With your testimony people will pay until they bleed.

I'm assuming "Lotus Land" is Vancouver - Canada - no medical bills here.

Here in Ontario, you can't get a copy of the police report unless you have some business in the matter. I'm not sure being a witness would count. I sometimes have to get them for work because we're lienholder on a vehicle involved in an accident, and I've been denied before.

What I don't understand is why the police don't care about the witness. What happened to "serve and protect"? If she's even half as guilty as the story makes her out to be, the police should be very interested in what witnesses have to say.

Maybe put a small ad in the personals in the local newspaper?

[The Gaijin]

Originally Posted by Christien

Maybe put a small ad in the personals in the local newspaper?

After my dad was sued by a drunk driver who almost killed him - I suggested we do this. No lawyer would go after the drunk in turn as he had no assests and minimal insurance. But people needed to know about this P.O.S. and what he had done.

Her friends, neighbors, co-workers and family need to know what an irresponsible idiot she is.

[DARISC]

Tragic that this happened, but great that you witnessed it and can help.

This may be completely off the wall. I'm only mentioning it in the case that you can't get info from law enforcement and/or are not contacted by them or the biker's ins. co. (does the biker even have insurance?):

I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., as you may know, anyone can have anyone else arrested by making a "citizen's arrest", wherein you notify law enforcement that you witnessed a crime and that you want the person you saw commit it to be arrested/cited and brought up on charges. The police will then arrest/cite/whatever is appropriate, the person for you. You have to sign that you are making a citizen's arrest and you are putting yourself at risk of being sued for false arrest if the person you've had arrested prevails in court (my layman's understanding). The police will not be accountable in any way - they are only doing the citizen's bidding.

Being an advocate yourself, have you asked any of your barrister buddies what you're asking here?

[varmint]

do not count on the cops. things get lost in the bureaucracy just like anywhere else.

this is an opportunity to do the right thing. to help the victim. to punish the stupid. how many chances do we get to do that?

[sammyg2]

I'd be surprised if the local television news station wouldn't be interested in interviewing you.

[Dottore]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone.

I am seeing the police later today. I've drafted and signed a supplemental witness statement which I would like to get attached to the police report, giving some further details, and stating clearly that I am prepared to appear as a witness in any proceedings etc. etc.

As I understand it the victim or his family will automatically receive a copy of the police report - as will the insurers.

The image of the biker flying through the air will stay with me for a long time.

The reality though is that there is only one witness statement (or so I believe). I find it hard to imagine that any charges will be laid on the basis of my statement alone - comprehensive though it is. But perhaps the physical evidence (angle of impact etc) will be compelling, and perhaps another witness will come out of the woodwork - or perhaps the victim will recover and be able to give evidence. Will have to wait and see.

[KFC911]

Good for you...you're absolutely doing the "right thing" imo. I guess I'm a bit confused about no charges being filed...didn't the MC rider have the right-of-way, and the car turned into him? Then again, I quit trying to make sense of a LOT of things a LONG time ago...