Man rushes pregnant wife to hospital; Police escort, then fine them

[irishfan]

My second Son was born within 15 minutes of us getting to the hospital, and I was kinda panicked, I pulled up in the Ambulance bay at Floyd Memorial hospital, and a city cop comes up as I'm getting out of the truck and says "you can't park here buddy". In a rather loud tone I told the officer my wife was having a baby RIGHT NOW! He looks in the truck and just totally freaks out, I think he ran in 3 or 4 circles before he got the attention of the hospital staff. I parked my truck elsewhere after we got my wife inside, the cop was already gone by the time I got back in the building, I wish I would have got a chance to talk to him, by him being so freaked out, he kinda helped me settle my own case of nerves.

Now that is funny right there

 

[Beau]

This is another case of zero tolerance mentality.

 

[Kutnupe14]

If driving 102 mph for a pregnant wife isn't a legitimate reason for speeding and not getting a ticket, why doesn't the king mandate that all vehicles have a governor that limits your speed to 75mph? If there is bmnever a justification for going over the speed limit, why are car manufacturers allowed to produce vehicles that go 100 mph? We want nannies in every other aspect of our lives, why not top speeds of vehicles?

Answer this question. If a person driving in such a way, with a pregnant wife, smokes a minivan and kills the occupants is the other vehicle, is that person criminally liable? Is is it pretty much the same as a person who follows all the traffic laws, but is involved in a routine accident which causes death?

 

[jeremy]

Answer this question. If a person driving in such a way, with a pregnant wife, smokes a minivan and kills the occupants is the other vehicle, is that person criminally liable? Is is it pretty much the same as a person who follows all the traffic laws, but is involved in a routine accident which causes death?

And if an Ambulance smokes the Minivan?!
Or a Paramedic?!
Or an LEO?!

It is kinda fun throwing out all of these hypotheticals...

 

[littletommy]

Actually, here in Clarksville about a year and half or two years ago, an ambulance DID smoke a vehicle, killing the lady in the car, and, I'll have to do some digging to make sure, but I believe the kid driving the bambalance was indeed criminally charged.

 

[eldirector]

And if an Ambulance smokes the Minivan?!
Or a Paramedic?!
Or an LEO?!

It is kinda fun throwing out all of these hypotheticals...

Emergency vehicles have lights and sirens. Drivers are typically trained (better than your average mini-van driver). Other vehicles are required by law to yield to the emergency vehicle.

You EMTs/firemen can correct me, but I also believe that emergency vehicles are not exempt from traffic laws, unless specifically noted. You get to the scene quickly not by speeding, but because everyone clears a path and you can (once it is safe) run a red light. LEOs seem to be exempt from this: not by law, but because who would pull them over?

Cops, EMTs, and firemen have routinely been held accountable for reckless driving.

My own (like anyone cares):
That baby was going to get born no matter where they were. Rather than putting his family and everyone on the road at risk, and likely scaring the bejeezus out of his wife, why not just stay home, make his wife as comfortable as possible, and call for help?

Instead, he got a speeding ticket. Since everything else turned out OK, just pay the fine and chalk it up to experience.

 

[serpicostraight]

Answer this question. If a person driving in such a way, with a pregnant wife, smokes a minivan and kills the occupants is the other vehicle, is that person criminally liable? Is is it pretty much the same as a person who follows all the traffic laws, but is involved in a routine accident which causes death?

if he had a bac of 19 a mustard stain on his shirt and texting he should be fine.

 

[Kutnupe14]

if he had a bac of 19 a mustard stain on his shirt and texting he should be fine.

lol touche.... but that guy is going to lose his "shirt" in the civil case.

 

[hornadylnl]

lol touche.... but that guy is going to lose his "shirt" in the civil case.

That remains to be seen. We already know there are 2 different criminal justice systems. Are we supposed to believe that there aren't 2 different civil justice systems?

 

[Bill of Rights]

...People need to shake this idea that government is their friend. ...

The issue isn't that government is our friend but that it can be "not our friend" without being our enemy.

The analogy isn't exact, but consider in days gone by, a mother, making her teenage son's bed (why she would be doing so, I don't know) and finds a porno mag stuffed under the mattress... Fair bet she would remove it and either she or his father would have a "discussion" with him. While it's likely he would think of them as his enemies, those of us who are parents would know him to be mistaken... not that they would be feeling particularly friendly toward him at the moment.

And if an Ambulance smokes the Minivan?!
Or a Paramedic?!
Or an LEO?!

It is kinda fun throwing out all of these hypotheticals...

Actually, here in Clarksville about a year and half or two years ago, an ambulance DID smoke a vehicle, killing the lady in the car, and, I'll have to do some digging to make sure, but I believe the kid driving the bambalance was indeed criminally charged.

^^This. We run the lights and siren asking for the right of way to be yielded. If another driver refuses to do so, s/he may be cited for failure to yield, yes, but until they do yield it, it is theirs, not ours, and as such, we are expected and required to drive with due care and regard for the safety of other drivers.

This is why most ambulances have governors limiting their speed. I'm not sure if fire dept. vehicles do also, but it's one reason why some police agencies no longer do high-speed pursuits as well.

I can understand the desire to drive reallyreallyfast... The baby I caught five years ago was the mother's fifth and when the FD showed up at the house, we had mom in the back of the truck and I told them the hospital we needed to go to along with the words "three days ago".... and we were in the back of an ambulance with two trained and experienced medics and the equipment needed to deliver that baby. I was calm, but I also knew she'd be better served delivering in the hospital than in a moving truck.(She delivered on our cot, just not in my ambulance) In a private car and without an OB kit or training, yeah, I can see how he'd panic. The problem is that panic would also make his driving far more erratic and make him more dangerous.

If he got a good lesson from it, I'd call it worthwhile, even if it would have been better done IMHO with a verbal warning.

Blessings,
Bill