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Seattle. Protrstors blocking the Highway get hit by a car. Should they be charged & made pay for the damage to the car& the PTSD of the driver? (Page 2)
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YES! ... and locked up in a psych ward for about 15 years!
How can someone hit a human being with a car? If they block the road, better stop or have a little chat so they let them pass...
Hitting someone with a car is an attempted murder.
The driver was black and the protestors white? I love poetic justice. Yes make them pay through the nose.
I did not fully understand the situation. I did not know that the driver drove the wrong way on a ramp. Still I hope he doesn't go to prison.
Well they’re blocking a highway where cars need to drive so it’s not the driver’s fault if they get ran over. Yea I think they should be charged
Yep you can't block highway while protesting. They serve to be ran over. Give the driver a slap on the wrist.
So horrible. These people need to get a life and get out of the road. This driver doesn’t deserve this or any charges whatsoever.
So I’ve heard the road was closed, so this changes things a bit. But either way, if you don’t stand out in the middle of a highway, you won’t get run over by a car. Why not just chill at home like any normal American and watch TV or whatever? I hate politics and what they do to people.
Whoa they flew into the air. I still don't think the driver should be charged with anything. He was just driving which is what high ways are built for
Yes, people have no right to block traffic , these ball less Mayors and Governors should be sued too.
They didn't want to get hit, but at the same time, if you're retarded enough to protest on the highway, you can't complain about it.
Pay for damages an get fined or go to jail if they can't pay an do garbage pick up
I thought B was a joke, but someone actually voted for it haa.
That's intentional, if they died they would be held responsible no matter what.
I'm not sure how you decide who has to pay up in that situation. I think we have to just call them idiots, mourn the chick that died, and move on.
Driving like this is beyond civilized behaviour. Are we back in the Wild West?
In most civilized countries, people aren't dumb enough to protest on highways.
@Guanfei That's true :) But running them over isn't any smarter?
You can't stop a vehicle at full speed in a second. Even at low speed it takes a few seconds.
@Guanfei The cars blocking could be seen from a distance of at least 100 mtrs. - I also see no serious attempt of the car slowing down. Guys: admit it - that driver was mad about the protesters and used his car as a 'weapon'. The real world is not a Hollywood action movie :)
I had faced demonstrator's road blocks myself; and did not agree with them. But I give away nothing by slowing down and passing them safely.
@Guanfei there were road blocks so the driver should have noticed not to drive through. He kind of ignored them and just went on full speed. I don’t think he was malicious just completely ignoring his environment so negligent. But then it again it is a highway so driving fast makes sense. But overall he’s at fault I think.
In this case, the road had been closed apparently. So the driver is at fault.
Closed by who?
Article didn’t say, but alluded to police officially closing the road. Prob due to the protest. That’s why the driver was in trouble.
But it’s an interesting ethical dilemma in generic terms.
“ Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking I-5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40 a. m., according to a police report released by the Washington State Patrol.”
He guilty as fck.
I agree he’s guilty in a legal sense.
Of course not. People who drive vehicles are required, by law, to have control of the vehicle at all times. If they hit a pedestrian it's THEIR fault.
both true and untrue. On highways its illegal to block for any reason including protest..
@worldscolide It probably is illegal. Hitting them is also illegal.
Not in my state... Its why no one protests on highways here.
@worldscolide What if cars get stranded/break down? The law says it's legal to keep 'speeding' and to run them over, right?
@andreasderjuengere apples to oranges comparison.. not interested in entertaining strawman arguments.
@andreasderjuengere by the way the reason it is apples to oranges.. One situation is people stupidly intentionally blocking a roadway.. one is a motorist in distress..
@worldscolide You 'Americans' really can be funny :)
@andreasderjuengere Listen. You hit a pedestrian with your car, you are going to have major legal trouble unless you can prove the person jumped in front of your car at the last moment. Don't listen to these assholes.
Agreed. And: The invention of the car was a major mistake :D
@andreasderjuengere Also, that road was officially CLOSED. The car had no right to even be there.
Ha ha haaaaaahh! :D
And also: the road block then blocked nothing?
That makes me even more 'hah hah haaaaaaah'
@andreasderjuengere Here is the real story:
"One person was killed and another critically injured after a car swerved through a group of Seattle protesters Saturday. The incident occurred in the overnight hours on a stretch of I-5 that had been closed for weeks due to ongoing racial justice protests. It was not clear whether the attack was targeted, though police say the driver, Dawit Kelete, likely drove around state patrol barricades to enter. Kelete has been charged with two counts of vehicular assault. Officials said freeway protests would be prohibited going forward. "
To disagree on stuff is normal. It should NOT be normal to settle these disagreements like cavemen.
@andreasderjuengere The US is like that, sadly.
It’s beyond criminal, but what should one expect from mass jim Jones political regime from totalitarian Trump & cronies.
Driver should go to prison. Even if there are people illegally on the highway, you can’t charge your way through them. It’s unfortunate that they are there, but that’s no license to kill.
You have good morals.. but when you’re the driver and end up stopping for these privileged idiots and they end up smashing your car and ripping you out of the smashed driver side window and beat you to nearly death.. I think you’d change your tune
You want to stand on a highway? So be it, but don’t cry about getting run over, killed; or never being able to walk again. These riots and protests are often violent and pathetic ! Cause more harm than good !
The last thing we need to be is SOFT by protecting these goofs.
VROOM VROOM MOTHERFU*****!!!
Yeah no, you can’t run over people and kill them because you may believe there is a probability that they may eventually form some sort of danger tp you. That’s no excuse for vehicular manslaughter.
Also imagine someone (such as your mom or dad or anyone you care about) is having some sort of medical emergency. Getting to the hospital in time is crucial for survival and then bam ! The ambulance or maybe you personally threw them in your car to rush them over to the hospital.. regardless you or the ambulance runs into this protesting crowds.. the even slight delay results in your loved one dying.
Blocking roads or highways need to be illegal. Absolutely.
Shit example. Ambulances make noise to prevent someone standing in their way. And yes, even when you have a loved one in your car, you can’t drive into a crowd
You can if the crowd is a mob. The reason we have sidewalks is so pedestrians don't get hit be vehicles
I mean seriously.. I’m NOT going to turn and drive backwards on the fucking highway to endanger my own life and another vehicles.. and I’m sure as hell not stopping my vehicle so the angry mob can smash it up and potentially beat my face in. so no I wouldn’t intentionally run someone over but I would keep driving at a speed that allows people to get out of the way. Maybe 40-50km/h.
So you can argue what whatever you would like, end of the day when their are mobs on the street (and it is not closed down officially to accommodate it) then you can definitely expect some casualties ! So argue what you’d like but I’ll just keep watching these goofs get SMACKED by a big a 4000 pound metal car !! I wonder if those two women think it was a good idea now? We should ask them !! Or are they brain dead , or dead? Hahah ah well, I guess well never know what they think.. Because they were standing on a friggin highway !!!
I don’t really give a shit what you do. If you behave like that guy, you deserve to go into prison for a very long time. End of story
Edit: I did not write that coherently. Erase the first sentence
@RedWings19 @american_centurion I agree with tartaarsaas even though those protestors were stupid the driver of the vehicle should still have tried not to slam into them. I watched the video it’s like he completely ignored all the road blocks and sped as quickly as he could thinking it’s just another free way. It’s just gross negligence where he’s not paying attention to any fucking thing. Don’t make it about politics that driver and the protestors were just being stupid.
@Taktagamo_Monisense can’t argue with this. I did say as I driver I would proceed way slower. Likely 40-50km/h giving myself a chance to go around people as well as giving them a chance to move out of the way.
In the states if you saw the protests in the last month, they literally pull drivers who stop out of their vehicles and beat them down BADLY. I’d be surprised if there are no permanent side effects from the beat downs.
This is why I would not stop my vehicle. And if at a slow speed they started hitting my vehicle or attempted to smash my windows..: you better believe I’m stomping on the gas at that point.
But I’m this video yeah you’re right, this guy FLEW through it
I'm not sure what country you learned to drive in, but in America the pedestrian always has the right of way.
Go back to your third world hell hole where it's legal to run people over.
not on the highway. Its illegal to walk on the highway for a reason
They weren't on the highway. And the thumbdowns are from people who don't know the traffic laws.
This incident took place on Interstate 5. It is illegal to be a pedestrian on an interstate highway, parkway, turnpike, thruway, expressway, or any other limited access highway, along with most bridges and tunnels, void of traffic control devices, such as traffic lights and crosswalks. So no, pedestrians do NOT always have the right of way. With that said, the driver in this particular incident was wrong, and charged accordingly.
@NYCQuestions1976 it is still illegal to run people over on the highway.
www.quora.com/Is-it-legal-to-run-over-protesters-that-are-blocking-the-road
He tried to avoid them.
I never claimed or implied that it was legal to deliberately run people over on the highway. You falsely claimed that pedestrians always have the right of way, and that this incident didn't happen on a highway. I correctly pointed out the blatant inaccuracy of both of those statements.
A driver that has an established right-of-way (limited access highway, green light), and accidentally strikes a pedestrian that does not have an established right-of-way (green light, crosswalk with green crossing signal, sign that clearly states "Pedestrians Have Right-Of-Way" or "Vehicles Must Yield To Pedestrians") will almost never face criminal charges, unless the driver was driving at a high rate of speed and/or leaves the scene of the accident.
Quora? Really? As a source? Come on now. At least try to give me something from a Department Of Motor Vehicles or a Department Of Transportation...
Now that one of the rioters has died from her injuries, one of the charges against this driver will be raised accordingly. The change will probably be raised to Vehicular Homicide, and rightfully so, since the driver's actions were clearly deliberate in this incident.
@American_Centurion I watched the video. The driver's actions were deliberate. You can't fight deliberate stupidity (rioters) with greater deliberate stupidity (Vehicular Homicide).
@NYCQuestions1976 I never said it was legal for pedestrians to walk on the highway. you're claiming that the pedestrian doesn't have the right of way. The pedestrian always has the right of way according to the DMV and traffic laws, even if they're j-walking or trespassing. You should not be driving in the USA if you think that a car is every in the right over pedestrians.
That is highly inaccurate, bordering on deliberate disinformation. I suggest that you brush up on your local traffic laws and register for a defensive driver's class. In actual application, if what you were stating was even remotely true, then every crosswalk traffic light in the entire United States would be a constant continuous solid green at all times and every vehicular traffic light would be a continuous blinking amber or red light. That is obviously not the case. What is the solid "Red Hand" light for? Hint: It's not a high five sign.
@NYCQuestions1976 where did I say it was legal for them to be on the highway? Both people are committing crimes: the pedestrians and the motorist who hit them. The difference is that the pedestrians are committing a misdomeanor and the motorist is committing a felony.
www.dmv.ca.gov/.../
This was your second post on this thread:
"They weren't on the highway. And the thumbdowns are from people who don't know the traffic laws."
So you didn't know the full story before commenting, or you don't believe that Interstate 5 is a highway. It can only be one or the other.
Not every incident of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle is automatically a felony. Again, it depends on everything that I painstakingly laid out above. Where was the location of the incident? Who had the the actual right-of-way as correctly prescribed by law, and not the falsely assumed/perceived right-of-way? Was it an accident? Was the driver illegally distracted, like by a cell phone? Or were the driver's actions outright deliberate? Was the pedestrian acting carelessly or recklessly leading up to the incident? Or was the pedestrian distracted by a cell phone? All of these factors matter in an incident investigation, and every individual incident is different.
Stone bringing old news up it’s annoying 🙄