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Argonath RPG Community => Speakerbox => World and local news => Topic started by: SugarD on March 05, 2013, 01:59:07 am

Title: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: SugarD on March 05, 2013, 01:59:07 am
In reference to this news topic:
http://www.argonathrpg.eu/index.php?topic=94472.0 (http://www.argonathrpg.eu/index.php?topic=94472.0)

There is an unfortunate update. It seems the second medical worker involved in the accident had succumbed to his injuries. Here is the new story regarding the legal matter over the crash:

(http://tribwxin.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/ambulancecrash.jpg)

Quote
A 21-year-old Florida woman will not face criminal charges for the February 16th crash that killed two members of an Indianapolis EMS crew.

Cody Medley and Tim McCormick died when the ambulance McCormick was driving was struck broadside by a car driven by IUPUI student Jade Hammer at 3:37 a.m. at the intersection of St. Clair Street and Senate Avenue downtown.

The collision sent the ambulance into a slide that came to an abrupt halt one third of the way down the block into vehicles parked along southbound Senate Avenue.

“It all begins with nothing more than running a red light,” said Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry. “That is not criminal recklessness under Indiana law.”

Neither is it drunk driving, said Curry, even though Hammer admitted having a couple drinks at a downtown bar before running the red light.

“The blood alcohol results were at .038 percent,” said Curry. “The legal threshold, as you know, is .08 percent, so, her blood alcohol wasn’t even half way to the threshold.”

Investigators said Hammer was shocked and remorseful at the scene. She cooperated by giving statements and submitting to a blood draw at Wishard Memorial Hospital.

“(She was) acknowledging that she had consumed some alcohol prior to the accident and that she was trying to follow a GPS on her phone,” said Curry, paraphrasing Hammer’s statement to police. “Otherwise she was completely distraught and appropriate in her responses.”

After the crash, Hammer returned to her Florida home.

The coed had been a student at IUPUI since the first of the year.

“She is incredibly relieved that a thorough investigation was completed and the prosecutor believed that this was the only appropriate way to go forward,” said John Tompkins, Hammer’s defense attorney. “She ran a red light and that was her contribution to these tragic events.”

Hammer faces a traffic citation.

“Anyone involved in a fatal accident endures a deep emotional impact,” said Tompkins, “They have to live with that incident for the rest of their lives.

“Indianapolis does not hold great memories for her at this point. She’s got a loving family in Florida. She’s going to stay there.”

After the prosecutor’s decision was announced, Indianapolis EMS Director Dr. Charles Miramonti issued a statement that read, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to not only the families and loved ones of our beloved Tim and Cody, but also to Jade Hammer and her family.”

Curry said investigators determined both drivers were exceeding the 30 mile-per-hour speed limits on the intersecting streets.

“The accident reconstruction showed that her vehicle was going between 35 to 40 miles per hour. The ambulance was going 45 to 50 miles per hour.”

The prosecutor said the excessive speed of the ambulance would have been a complicating factor in determining whether it was the initial impact at St. Clair and Senate or the collision with the parked vehicle 200 feet south killed the ambulance crew.

“Certainly it continued to go forward and cooling with vehicles down the street clearly would have been a function of the speed of the ambulance,” he said.

Source: http://fox59.com/news/stories/indianapolis-paramedic-medley-and-emt-mccormick-die-following-crash/#axzz2McbroYS5 (http://fox59.com/news/stories/indianapolis-paramedic-medley-and-emt-mccormick-die-following-crash/#axzz2McbroYS5)



Additionally, memorial stickers honoring the downed EMT and Paramedic are now available to the public in support of them. Information on that can be found in this related article on the same page:

(http://tribwxin.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/medley-mccormick.jpg)

Quote
Following Wednesday’s Public Safety Memorial Service for Private Timothy McCormick and Specialist Cody Medley, several members of the local Indianapolis community and the community at-large are looking for ways to memorialize these fallen heroes. As a result, Indianapolis EMS (IEMS) has created a memorial sticker as a way to remember the lives of these two young men and to pay tribute to their dedication towards public safety.

Members of the public are welcome to visit either of the two Sullivan Hardware and Garden Indianapolis locations to pick up a free sticker. Once you arrive, simply ask an associate how you may obtain a sticker. Below are the locations and operating hours for both stores.

6955 N. Keystone Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: 255.9230

Store Hours:
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

and

4838 N. Pennsylvania
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: 924-5040

Store Hours:
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

There are also several more related articles, videos, and images on the page pertaining to incident updates, and the memorials honoring the two men.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Adam. on March 05, 2013, 02:05:11 am
Running a red light, killing 2 and sent home with a citation?

Give me a fucking break.


I realize that the ambulance was speeding as well as the car, however, the woman ran the red light..

Under my books that is murder.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: SugarD on March 05, 2013, 02:08:18 am
Running a red light, killing 2 and sent home with a citation?

Give me a f**king break.


I realize that the ambulance was speeding as well as the car, however, the woman ran the red light..

Under my books that is murder.
I agree with you there. They made a good point that it is something she will have to live with for the rest of her life, so I can agree that a bit of leniency on the issue would make sense...but a simple traffic citation is not justice. There is a reason why electronics are illegal if they are not hands-free in many states. This is just your classic "I was txting on my phone and I didn't see the light change" incident, except instead she was messing with the GPS on it. People need to learn to set that stuff up before driving, and to pull over if they need to mess with it again after they leave...
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: AK47 on March 05, 2013, 02:13:50 am
She should be in jail for at least.. Forever.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Ron271 on March 05, 2013, 02:40:31 am
If anything it would be manslaughter. Unfortunate situation.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: TheLegitHabibi on March 05, 2013, 05:44:13 am
What happened was purely accidental. At 3 am, she simply broke a red light as she was getting home. When there's hardly any case around and a female, should get home safely. God knows what kind of neighborhood that was.
So an ambulance came speeding and hit her, and it crashed.

I see it as purely accidental. No need to put that innocent lady in jail just because of some accident.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Brian on March 05, 2013, 06:45:57 am
Innocent woman, if you drive when consumed alcohol you are already doing something wrong, speeding and driving past a red light. I am sorry, but I think she should serve some time...
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: SugarD on March 05, 2013, 09:50:19 am
What happened was purely accidental. At 3 am, she simply broke a red light as she was getting home. When there's hardly any case around and a female, should get home safely. God knows what kind of neighborhood that was.
So an ambulance came speeding and hit her, and it crashed.

I see it as purely accidental. No need to put that innocent lady in jail just because of some accident.
It wasn't accidental. It was neglect on her part. She was messing around with her phone while she was driving, instead of paying attention to where she was going. The only difference between this case and the classic ones is that she was using a GPS app on it instead of txting.

To give everyone an understanding of how dangerous this is, check out this documentary produced by AT&T, which tells the stories of victims of distracted drivers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DebhWD6ljZs#ws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DebhWD6ljZs#ws)
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Slavik on March 05, 2013, 10:22:21 am
No offense but some people cannot drive...
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Duel on March 05, 2013, 11:48:31 am
No offense but some people cannot drive...
True story.
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: SugarD on March 05, 2013, 12:13:12 pm
No offense but some people cannot drive...
You'd be surprised how many people out there are incapable of it, and still somehow manage to get a license. From my personal experiences of owning a cop car, I've seen first hand the stupid things people will do, even in front of me. I've also seen a lot of "police haters" purposely cut me off, or try to run me off the road into another car in the next lane, just for their own amusement. I've witnessed accidents not related to myself or my vehicle happen in front of me from careless stupidity too...and on a daily basis, I see nearly every driver on the road still talking on their cell phones like idiots, despite it being completely against the law, and fully enforced by city, county, and state Law Enforcement. The things people do in this world are absolutely amazing. Whether something is against the law in your city/county/parish/district/state/country/wherever or not, it doesn't mean you should do it. Common sense should take the priority role in deciding whether it's smart to drive distracted/under the influence or not...
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: Slavik on March 05, 2013, 07:46:50 pm
You'd be surprised how many people out there are incapable of it, and still somehow manage to get a license. From my personal experiences of owning a cop car, I've seen first hand the stupid things people will do, even in front of me. I've also seen a lot of "police haters" purposely cut me off, or try to run me off the road into another car in the next lane, just for their own amusement. I've witnessed accidents not related to myself or my vehicle happen in front of me from careless stupidity too...and on a daily basis, I see nearly every driver on the road still talking on their cell phones like idiots, despite it being completely against the law, and fully enforced by city, county, and state Law Enforcement. The things people do in this world are absolutely amazing. Whether something is against the law in your city/county/parish/district/state/country/wherever or not, it doesn't mean you should do it. Common sense should take the priority role in deciding whether it's smart to drive distracted/under the influence or not...
That exactly what I'm talking about
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: KhornateMonkey on March 05, 2013, 09:06:27 pm
THINK! Dont drink and drive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwHoOJazEMQ#ws)
Title: Re: Prosecutor explains decision not to charge driver in fatal ambulance crash
Post by: [WS]Jacob on March 05, 2013, 10:51:02 pm
THINK! Dont drink and drive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwHoOJazEMQ#ws)
Reminds me of Matt Lucas with all those voices.
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