28-672 in the news

Prosecutors routinely decline to prosecute negligent drivers who kill/injure. Nearly without exception, they will only seek murder (i.e. negligent homicide, or manslaughter) / assault charges if the driver is impaired. Short of that, the hurdle, in the minds of prosecutors, is very very high.

Irma Quintana Fatality

There’s nothing surprising or novel about this particular case in Laurie Robert’s recent column (if that link doesn’t work, check her blog), except perhaps its flagrance. A habitual speeder is speeding, red-light runner killed somebody. The 25 y.o. male killer (curiously not named, why?) according to the victim’s family’s attorney “says the SUV driver had eight prior speeding tickets and had been cited three times for driving without insurance before the April crash – when he also apparently had no insurance…(and) cited four times for driving with a suspended license”

The class 3 misdemeanor refers to §28-672 which recently changed to allow for criminal charges. Prior to 2007, the law didn’t even allow for any criminal charge, only enhanced civil penalties.

A class 3 misdemeanor normally implies no jail time whatsoever, and the maximum license suspension for death is 180 days — really, can’t we do any better for the sake of justice and public safety?

Jenna Eades Fatality

A few days later, Roberts did the Jenna Eades fatality in her column. (blog link).  As Roberts wrote in summary: “In Maricopa County, you can kill someone with your car and get away with it as long as you aren’t drunk or high. Here, there is no consequence, no price to be paid.”
“Maybe some day, somebody will be able to explain to her [Haley who survived but had serious injuries] how the man who took away her sister hasn’t gotten so much as a traffic ticket.” The official answer as to why there would be no traffic citation is explained here, Double Jeopard and flawed logic.

A mother’s death, a son’s loss deepens

by Laurie Roberts – Jan. 24, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

(excerpts)…
Just after 9 p.m., Ruben was headed west on Broadway when a southbound SUV, having just come off the Hohokam Expressway, ran the red light at 48th Street. The 25-year-old driver told police he had a green light and was going the speed limit. However, witnesses disagreed, as did the red-light camera that snapped him as he blew through the intersection.

According to Tempe police, the light had been red for 7.83 seconds when he came through, doing 48 mph in a 35 mph zone. Put another way, he was 550 feet from the intersection when that light turned red. Police said he had “more than adequate distance” to stop.

…
No alcohol or drugs were involved.

…
“He wasn’t impaired,” spokesman Mike Scerbo told me. “He didn’t flee the scene. It was not considered reckless behavior. It’s tragic, but it can’t be qualified as a felony.”

Not reckless, to be going 48 mph in a 35 zone, even though you’ve driven over four “rumble strips” to alert you to slow down? Not reckless, when the light had been red for nearly eight seconds? Count out eight seconds to see just how long that is.

…
Ruben’s (the victim) attorney, Clifford Heiney, says the SUV driver had eight prior speeding tickets and had been cited three times for driving without insurance before the April crash – when he also apparently had no insurance.

Heiney said he had been cited four times for driving with a suspended license, though police said he had a valid license in April.

Scerbo told me prosecutors have sent the case to the Tempe city attorney, recommending that the driver be charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor for killing Irma Quintana.

A Class 3 misdemeanor.

If convicted, the driver would have to go to traffic school and pay a fine. He even could see his license suspended.