"Ronn!Blankenship" wrote:
>
> At 03:56 PM 3/12/04, Deborah Harrell wrote:
> > > Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > > >Kevin Tarr wrote:
> >
> > > > Some people on this list consider drunk driving to
> > > >be a horrible crime that
> > > > isn't punished harshly enough. <snip>
> >
> > > IMO, it isn't punished harshly enough when it leads
> > > to death, dismemberment or disfigurement.
> ><snip>
> >
> >Agreed. If it only involved the death or maiming of
> >the imbiber, a harsh view would be "Darwin at work!"
> >But of course all-too-frequently, those who happen to
> >be at the wrong place at the wrong moment are the
> >victims.
>
> I've heard (maybe you can confirm or correct this) that many times the
> drunk driver is so "relaxed" that he is less injured while the sober person
> he hits is wide awake and frantically trying to do something to avoid the
> accident and so is tensed up and likely to be more seriously injured . . .
The local case I'm most familiar with had the victims' car catch fire
while the DUI's car didn't. At least one young woman died, and another
was very badly burned over a lot of her body, including her head and her
hands -- it was amazing that she survived. If it hadn't been for the
fire, most if not all of the victims would have survived. Then again,
they were all wearing seat belts, which seems to be the deciding factor
in survival in crashes over a broad range of severity.
DUIs that hit pedestrians are horrible. The first death among the
groups of kids my sister and I considered our friends was a
DUI-pedestrian accident.
Julia
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