A look into road rage

[seamusTX]

Mercedes guy has himself and two witnesses, his wife and adult daughter.

White pickup guy left the scene. If he doesn't show up, the testimony of the available witnesses gains credibility.

This is similar to what they mean when they say the first person to call 911 wins.

Obviously there's enough uncertainty in this situation that the police couldn't find probable cause. That's why they punted to the grand jury.

- Jim

[schufflerbot]

sad, sad, sad.


this guy needs to lose his CHL before someone else with breakfast gets seriously injured or killed.

[seamusTX]

Nobody needs a CHL to carry legally in a motor vehicle, carry illegally, give driving or etiquette lessons to strangers, or be a self-appointed hall monitor or so-called sheepdog.

- Jim

[tacticool]

Nobody needs a CHL to carry legally in a motor vehicle, carry illegally, give driving or etiquette lessons to strangers, or be a self-appointed hall monitor or so-called sheepdog.

No they don't, but a road rager who chases someone down and threatens the victim with a gun should be charged with a felony. If convicted, they should lose their right to possess firearms.

[seamusTX]

... a road rager who chases someone down and threatens the victim with a gun should be charged with a felony.

If that is in fact what happened, maybe that is the appropriate way to handle the case. That decision would be up to the grand jury.

However, all we have is an initial news report. I trust the news report to the extent that the cops and prosecutors could not come up with a charge—not intentional failure to conceal, or even disorderly conduct.

- Jim

[sugar land dave]

Let's conjecture for a minute...

A guy, not a very smart guy mind you, but a guy, is driving down the highway eating a bowl of oatmeal. A father of a pretty daughter, perhaps over-protective by nature, notices the eating driver near his daughter's car, and mistakes the eating motions for the wild gesticulations of a road rager. The father then herds his family off the road before chasing the other driver down. The eating driver becomes aware of the father following him and pulls over, perhaps thinking that there is something wrong with his car and that a concerned citizen is going to tell him about it. He gets out of his car, meal still in hand, when he is suddenly confronted by what is, from his point of view, a crazed gunman. In a panic, he drops his bowl, dives into his car and quickly drives off.

Does this not strike a chord of common sense within you guys, or do you think there is a stalker out there driving around ready to assault others with a bowl of cereal? I myself think the police cut the father a huge break here.

[LongHairedRedneck]

I myself think the police cut the father a huge break here.

My thoughs on why they are cutting this guy so much slack is Money, both he and his daughter were driving Mercedes. Y'all have to remeber if you are very wealthy the same standards/laws don't apply. He'll probably float the judge a nice campaign contribution (cash money) and be on his merry way and keep his CHL. While the rest of us would be up S**t Creek without a paddle if we acted in such a manner.

[seamusTX]

The police and the DA's office made the decisions on this incident. No judge was involved.

The newspaper account makes it sound bad for the Mercedes guy who chased the other guy, but none of us has all the facts.

I haven't heard anything further about this. Grand juries can take a long time to make a decision, and the newspaper usually does not report misdemeanor cases.

I also have to point out that not everyone who owns a Mercedes or two is wealthy. Some people drive expensive cars as a trade-off between cheaper housing or not having expensive hobbies or going on expensive vacations. Old or beat-up Mercedes models are not that expensive (because they are very expensive to repair).

- Jim

[seamusTX]

In Downers Grove, DuPage County, west of Chicago, today a 44-year-old motorist called the police and asked them to stop him from shooting someone in a road rage incident.

He was charged with felony assault and weapons violations. It is illegal in Illinois to drive around with a loaded weapon or readily accessible firearm. There are many other ways to violate weapons laws there.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5623.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Remarkable restraint, if you ask me.

- Jim