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This happened in El Dorado Hills, CA earlier this week. Of course, the 19-year-old drunk driver has no physical injuries . . . she is currently out on bail. :mad:
http://www.news10.net/news/local/sto...8&provider=top
http://www.news10.net/news/local/sto...=43522&catid=2
She should lose her license permanently.
Yeah, she should...wonder if she's got a record of this stuff, like the driver who hit me does...
In the meantime, I'm hoping that these riders continue to recover; it sure looks like it'll be a long, tough process. All while the driver walks, drives, lives and freely participates in any/all of her usual activities - sheesh!
Yeah, great "activities". :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by MM_QFC!
I live in El Dorado County and everyone is talking about this. It just makes me sick! Supposedly the driver was reaching for a water bottle and swerved into the bike lane. We're all wondering just exactly what was in that water bottle. And of course, the driver ends up with no injuries. It seems like she should have to stay in jail at least until the cyclists are released from the hospital. Like MM_QFC said, how unfair. I hope these poor ladies pull through ok. And the driver should definitely get her license pulled permanently. She's under age too, so hopefully that will work against her. I hope our County's DA throws the book at her. Once again, it makes me sick.
A week or so ago, one of our County Supervisors (an elected official) crashed her car, also in El Dorado Hills. She is accused of being drunk. What a nice example to set for all the other residents of our County. Thank goodness she didn't injure or kill anyone.
-sara
Glad she's been taken back into custody:
http://www.news10.net/news/local/sto...=45614&catid=2
July 30, 2008
PLACERVILLE, CA - A 19-year-old woman suspected of drunk driving when she hit two cyclists in El Dorado Hills last month is back in jail, her bail increased at her Tuesday arraignment.
Brandi Thomas had been out on bail since her initial booking on the drunk driving charges. At her Placerville arraignment, however, Thomas was taken back into custody when the judge increased her bail from $35,000 to $100,000.
Thomas is charged with hitting two women on bicycles while they rode northbound on El Dorado Hills Boulevard on the morning of June 18. Both Kathi Sturgeon, 48, and Kathy Hurd, 43, were severely injured.
Sturgeon suffered a traumatic brain injury and is continuing to be cared for at an acute rehabilitation center, according to friends.
Hurd, whose injuries included a fractured back and broken clavicle, was hospitalized nine days. She remains on pain medication and still cannot drive a car, according to her friend, Debby Stone.
Sturgeon and Hurd are members of the Bodacious Biking Babes cycling team, a women's group that bikes in various charity events. At the time of the crash, they were training for a 200-mile ride over two days in July from Seattle to Portland.
Thomas, also of El Dorado Hills, was formally charged with two counts of felony DUI with great bodily injury and two counts of felony DUI with a blood alcohol level above .08. She also faces enhancements of causing bodily injury and driving without insurance.
Her preliminary hearing is set for August 5.
What a sad statement about a 19 year old (made by one of the driver's friends):
I am a close friend of Brandi's as well. Let me make sure you all have the facts straight.(Let me first add that every time I have been with her she will NOT drive unless she feels she has sobered up. I cannot say that about all of my friends, who i do not get in cars with).
Does this mean drinking heavily is a frequent occurence for her?
I think the phrase "unless she feels she has sobered up" says it all. Drunks don't know when they have sobered up! They usually feel they are fit to drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Very, very sad. She should have her license taken away for many, many years!
Emily
And forced to become a court-ordered cyclist. Sell the car, give the money to the victims as partial restitution.Quote:
Originally Posted by emily_in_nc
along with everything else I'd like for her and her 'friends' to see what a traumatic brain injury does to a person.
Found a bit about the team here:Quote:
Originally Posted by michelem
http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6...5637-1,00.html
Why does it seem like the best of all possible people get hit by some of the worst? I felt sorry for the man who hit and killed my cousin, Kathy. Really I do. I'm sure he is a nice guy, family man, hard working Joe etc.
But she was extroardinary. Many expressed at her memorial, one in a poem that some are just not worth breathing the same air.
Oh man, I know members of the Bodacious Babes. I'll email 'em.
Oh gosh, I remember reading the article about the Bodacious Babes back when I got Bicycling mag. When I saw the photo I remembered instantly. I thought they were so cool! Just awful to hear that two of them were struck down. :mad:
Emily
The guy who hit me was not a nice guy, family man etc. He was a repeat drunk driver with a history of injuring people. The guy he had in his car that he was drunk driving with that landed him in prison before, has a closed head injury, and is permanently disabled. Fortunately I was not on a bike when he hit me.
Something else in SK's quote from the friend jumps out at me too... the defender was implying this girl was more responsible than some of her other friends who apparently drive even when they don't even 'feel' sober.
It's a shockingly blase attitude about drinking and driving and I can't believe they were not taught by parents and schools this is both wrong and illegal...