Interesting road rage case going to trial here in Atlanta.

[Fausto]

Paul Samuel Gardner Jr. is charged with murder, but nobody says he squeezed a trigger or thrust a knife. An investigator says Gardner hit the brakes on his truck.

Gardner pulled his pickup truck in front of a Chevrolet Blazer and braked, causing the Blazer to swerve off Ga. 54 and flip several times, authorities said.

The Blazer's driver, Kera Nicole Koon, 21, of Fayetteville, was killed at the scene. Gardner, 31, of Sharpsburg, has been held without bond since the May 10 wreck.

Mike Hattaway, a Fayette County Sheriff's Department investigator, testified that witnesses saw Koon speeding and weaving in traffic shortly before the wreck. Hattaway said a passenger in Koon's vehicle testified that Koon smoked marijuana and drank alcohol hours before the crash. But the investigator said he thought Gardner caused Koon to crash.

As far as anyone can tell, the two cars never touched. Would Koon have lost control when he mashed the brakes were she not high and drunk?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

If I was Gardner, I'd testify that I was trying to get a drunk driver to stop.

 

[dabuddha]

Being charged with murder would be stupid but he should still be penalized for wreckless driving.

 

[Hammer]

i agree with the reckless driving part, but not the murder. the other guy was drunk, that's why he is dead.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
If I was Gardner, I'd testify that I was trying to get a drunk driver to stop.

I'd say that defense won't fly since he left the scene and turned himself in later.

 

[Lucky]

i dont see where it says he was drunk, it says he was drinking alcohol hours before.

 

[ElFenix]

see what happens when you weave in and out of traffic?

doesn't say if she was wearing a seatbelt or not

 

[ScottyB]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
see what happens when you weave in and out of traffic?

doesn't say if she was wearing a seatbelt or not

We need the very fitting quote, "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

 

[isekii]

Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Lucky
i dont see where it says he was drunk, it says he was drinking alcohol hours before.

I'm sure they'll have BAC data and such from the post-mortem exam. If the driver was over the legal limit at the time of the accident, I'm guessing Garner will be acquitted.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: isekii
Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.

how many times have you gotten tailgated so you lit up your brake lights so the guy behind you would back off?

 

[mpitts]

That is tough.

He definitely put her life in danger by acting the way that he did. Chances are slim that this accident would have been caused if he didn't pull in front of her and hit the brakes. Since we don't really know how fast they were going, if he speeded up to pull in front of her, or how hard he hit the brakes, it is hard to judge how much of the accident he is responsible for.

Whether he wants to admit it or not, it was not his job to police the roadways.

 

[pulse8]

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: Lucky
i dont see where it says he was drunk, it says he was drinking alcohol hours before.

I'm sure they'll have BAC data and such from the post-mortem exam. If the driver was over the legal limit at the time of the accident, I'm guessing Garner will be acquitted.

Right, but unless people in this thread have that information, they don't know if she was actually drunk or not. I can have 2 drinks now and leave my apartment in 2 hours and not be drunk any longer.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: pulse8

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: Lucky
i dont see where it says he was drunk, it says he was drinking alcohol hours before.

I'm sure they'll have BAC data and such from the post-mortem exam. If the driver was over the legal limit at the time of the accident, I'm guessing Garner will be acquitted.

Right, but unless people in this thread have that information, they don't know if she was actually drunk or not. I can have 2 drinks now and leave my apartment in 2 hours and not be drunk any longer.

True, but there's nothing I can do about that...sorry. 😉

I posted the link since it's not your typical cut-and-dried "guy whips out a Glock and ventilates the lamer in the BWM on the cell phone who cut him off" story. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing plays out (not that I feel sorry for either party involved).

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: isekii
Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.

how many times have you gotten tailgated so you lit up your brake lights so the guy behind you would back off?

Never... I just slow down gradually.
and drive slower and slower .. just to piss the person behind me more.. or get them to get around me.

It works out a lot better that way. I usually speed up once the person tries to get in my lane.

 

[brxndxn]

It doesn't matter whether or not she was drunk.. or previously drunk.. or high.

It matters whether Paul Gardner intentionally/ignorantly caused her to crash. If he had bad intent, then murder is a fitting charge. However, from what I've seen, I don't necessarily see his driving as reckless. I'm picturing a guy on a highway...

Here in the US, highways blow chunks. Ninety-percent of drivers are dumbfvck idiots that go slow in the middle and left lanes.. so then the others have to weave to get around them. So all this weaving causes periods of the road to be barren.. and other parts totally jammed up driving 70mph bumper to bumper.

so anyway.. this guy is merely passing on the right lane (which is illegal.. but so is speeding.. but so is driving goddamn slow in the left lane) and he pulls in front of this girl only to find that in the right lane, some idiot is going even slower in front of him. So, he is forced to hit the brakes. No harm in that...

Unless the driver behind him isn't paying attention (drunk, sober, high.. it does not matter).. then, it's the fault of the driver that's following.

The only time I could call it Paul Gardner's fault is if he was driving maybe in a Corvette and slammed on the brakes in front of her driving a blazer.. then, there's no way in hell the blazer could be expected to slow as fast.. but, drivers of SUVs need to realize it's better to bump the car in front of them than to swerve. SUVs do not swerver; they flip.

Now, for Paul Gardner leaving the scene of a wreck where he's seeing a blazer rolling over behind him... He should be shot in the face. Seriously, people like that do not deserve life. If you're anywhere nearby when an accident like that occurs, it is your civil duty to help out as much as you can. Who knows.. maybe Kera Koon would be alive today of Paul decided to get out of his car and help.

Argh.. As for murder by driving? NO.

Gross negligence? YES.

 

[KokomoGST]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: isekii
Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.

how many times have you gotten tailgated so you lit up your brake lights so the guy behind you would back off?

Never... I just slow down gradually.
and drive slower and slower .. just to piss the person behind me more.. or get them to get around me.

It works out a lot better that way. I usually speed up once the person tries to get in my lane.

Radioshack has 1million candlepower spotlights for your car for $8. I know some people that use those spotlights on tailgaters. 😛
I usually just slow down to piss them off too. If you're tailgating me, you must not know how many friggin speed traps are in my area and must be a dumb@ss out-of-towner... or mebbe just a dumb@ss... mebbe a ricer trying to bait me into a race.

 

[Mallow]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
If I was Gardner, I'd testify that I was trying to get a drunk driver to stop.

lol, it would probably work.

What did Koon do to piss gardner off?

 

[brxndxn]

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: ElFenix

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: isekii
Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



how many times have you gotten tailgated so you lit up your brake lights so the guy behind you would back off?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Never... I just slow down gradually.
and drive slower and slower .. just to piss the person behind me more.. or get them to get around me.

It works out a lot better that way. I usually speed up once the person tries to get in my lane.

What the does that accomplish you stupid asshole?

Damn.. you moron. If a person wants to get around you, why the hell do you make it hard for them? You even go out of your way to make sure they cannot pass you?

If a person is following too closely behind you, get out of the damn way and let them pass. It doesn't slow you down. You think pissing them off will make the roads safer?

Get out of the way if you're NOT PASSING in the fast lane. And, passing the other cars by going 1mph faster than them does not count as passing.

 

[Mallow]

Originally posted by: brxndxn

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: ElFenix

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: isekii
Driving while high and drunk

one less idiot our gene pool


whether or not the person who braked is resposible or not... he should get some kinda punishment for roadrage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



how many times have you gotten tailgated so you lit up your brake lights so the guy behind you would back off?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Never... I just slow down gradually.
and drive slower and slower .. just to piss the person behind me more.. or get them to get around me.

It works out a lot better that way. I usually speed up once the person tries to get in my lane.

What the does that accomplish you stupid asshole?

Damn.. you moron. If a person wants to get around you, why the hell do you make it hard for them? You even go out of your way to make sure they cannot pass you?

If a person is following too closely behind you, get out of the damn way and let them pass. It doesn't slow you down. You think pissing them off will make the roads safer?

Get out of the way if you're NOT PASSING in the fast lane. And, passing the other cars by going 1mph faster than them does not count as passing.

I agree with most of what you said. However, there is no excuse for tailgating. The drive behind you cannot see what is in front of you. You might have to slam on your brakes for a legitimate reason and they would crash into you. This puts you and/or your family in danger. That is unacceptable which is a good reason to get out of the morons way, as you said 🙂