$1600 - Wreck a Car or Killl a Person

A friend of mine called me in tears a few months ago. It turns out that a man was killed while riding his bicycle on a rual Florida road. The deceased was her neighbor and someone she admired dearly. He was killed by an 18 year old driver that while "distracted" swerved into the bicycle lane, hit the cyclist and crushed his body. After impact the bicyclist lay conscious, bleeding from the mouth and paralyzed from the neck down. Sources at the scene say that he was irrate that someone would hit him. He did nothing wrong. Later that night he died from massive internal injuries.

He left a wife and a 6-month old son. He was months away from completing a Ph.D.. He was a dear friend to many and admired in his community.

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Yesterday the same friend called me in tears. She was hit broadside by an uninsured driver that was operating a car on a suspended license. Her car was disabled at the scene and she just carried liability insurance on her old car. Nobody knows if he was drunk or stoned becuase he tricked her into leaving the scene without calling the cops. Luckily she got his license number.

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In the second story the police can't do anything because they did not witness the accident. No ticket was issued, no penalty went to the to the uninsured, unlicensed driver that had to drive his car into another.

To avoid any interaction with the police or courts he offered to pay for her repairs.
Today she found out that he will pay $1600 to restore her car to operable.

The same day a judge decided the penalty for the driver that hit and killed the bicyclist. It was $1600, a single fine, payable to the state. Mother and child get nothing. The parallel between the cost to repair a car and the cost to even begin to attempt to right a wrong was eerie. When I heard this I felt injustice, inequity and a complete sense of empty.

Investigation would reveal that the 18 year old that killed the bicylist is the son of an attorney. The victim was a student with a student wife that does not matter in the eyes of the legal system. Disposable.

I can tell you one thing for sure. If the student (or even I) were to hit that son of a lawyer and scratch his car or cause him to harmlessly flinch, I would be in court for the next year. I would be sued, my insurance company would pay out millions and I'd live forever uninsurable.

It ain't fuckin fair.