Hometown Tragedy and an important outcome

572cv · #1 05-23-2015, 07:53 PM

Mods: please move to General Forum, sorry for the inadvertent mistake.

There have been a few threads recently about car bike collisions, and their aftermath.

In my hometown of Hinesburg, a young local kid in a hopped up compact came out of the village on a Sunday morning at the end of last month, at a high rate of speed, lost control of his car, almost hit an oncoming car and in the reaction time, skidded across the road and killed a local cyclist and then himself. It was a completely irresponsible action, and has traumatized a lot of people. I ride this route all the time. I was horrified.

One does not expect the local PD to speak out on this kind of issue, but we have a very direct and engaging Police Chief, who has had the courage of his convictions to speak out. We have a Community Police department, which wants all its citizens to be safe and respectful of each other. I am proud of our Chief for the piece he published, and want to share it with you all. I think it has a great balance of compassion and firmness, and honesty.

http://hinesburgrecord.org/index.php...chief-s-corner

This comes from our local newspaper, the Hinesburg Record.

jimcav · #2 05-23-2015, 08:06 PM

it is a cliche about something good coming out of something so senselessly awful, but i hope it does strike a cord with drivers everywhere and i hope other PDs see this and target not only the obnoxiously dangerous driver but the distracted/texters etc
jim

AngryScientist · #3 05-23-2015, 08:34 PM

good read. the man has convictions, let's hope he keeps at it, and gets the full support of his department.

Quote:

Finally, the legacy this will leave with the Hinesburg Community Police Department. If you drive in Hinesburg with no regard to the others on the road, we will make sure that you are targeted until driving habits are either changed or you are taking a bus. Additionally, bicycles and pedestrians are seriously vulnerable to mistakes by motorists and we will have zero tolerance to unsafe driving that puts lives at risk.

weisan · #4 05-23-2015, 08:36 PM

I like this police chief. He's got the head and the heart. Thanks for sharing.

firerescuefin · #5 05-23-2015, 08:44 PM

Props to the Chief for writing that.

Didn't know speeding/reckless driving was a right of passage.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/s...lumn/27809395/

bironi · #6 05-23-2015, 08:47 PM

Thank you. Nice read.

JAllen · #7 05-25-2015, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firerescuefin

Props to the Chief for writing that.

Didn't know speeding/reckless driving was a right of passage.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/s...lumn/27809395/

572cv, thank you for sharing. I wish there was a way for me to thank you your town's chief of police for a well written piece.

As for the other article quoted. Of course they think their baby is some angel. Denial is powerful. Still doesn't change the fact that their angel was a careless child too immature to be driving. They are in every town and in every generation, and every so often they kill and/or are killed. I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere where this sense of entitlement and facade of freedom in vehicle operation is rampant... I can drive you around the county and point every single spot where someone was maimed or killed. Truly overwhelming. No one likes to face the fact that their child is reckless or maybe even stupid.

tumbler · #8 05-25-2015, 06:08 AM

Great post. Props to this chief for taking this seriously and actually trying to change things.

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Slow Eddie · #9 05-25-2015, 06:14 AM

Richard was a good friend of mine. This article confirms what I have been hearing informally in the days since this tragedy. The response from the family, sadly, is an all-too-familiar refrain.

soulspinner · #10 05-26-2015, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slow Eddie

Richard was a good friend of mine. This article confirms what I have been hearing informally in the days since this tragedy. The response from the family, sadly, is an all-too-familiar refrain.

So sorry man...

redir · #11 05-26-2015, 10:22 AM

That was an excellent read.

drewski · #12 05-26-2015, 10:39 AM

Sorry to hear about the the loss of of a person who was just out cycling and doing a sport we all love. I admire the chief for taking a stand. Too many people drive with an entitlement attitude.

JAllen · #13 05-26-2015, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slow Eddie

Richard was a good friend of mine. This article confirms what I have been hearing informally in the days since this tragedy. The response from the family, sadly, is an all-too-familiar refrain.

I'm so sorry for your loss of a friend. I wish I had more words to say...

572cv · #14 05-26-2015, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAllen

..... I wish there was a way for me to thank you your town's chief of police for a well written piece......

JA, your thread described the unimaginable anguish of the tragedy you are dealing with. My hopes and prayers are with you, and the victim and the families. Here, we had someone driving with a similar sense of entitlement and disregard for others. It is still unimaginable that it could happen here. But, it is unimaginable to all of us everywhere. Our chief takes to heart that the job of the police is to protect the community... the whole community, not just a part of it. All of our cops are trained as EMTs, so that they can be effective in emergencies. If people knew the job they do behind the scenes in things like domestic violence situations, they might see them differently too. The vision is one of reasonable societal order, which gets achieved sometimes by giving and getting respect. The Hinesburg PD tries to give respect, and teach it, sometimes. They have taken personally this incident. I know they will continue to be respectful, but to those who don't respond to their concerns, there will be consequences.

The family reaction was indeed unfortunate. The issue is in part, where do kids go to get their rocks off in the country, what do they do for a rush. It just can't be the public roads. We have a race track not too far away, where they have novice modified street stock classes. That could work for some, who knows. I digress.

But it was the police reaction that is potentially a game changer in awareness around here. Chief Koss is respected, a man of wit and good humor, and a good cop. His clear articulation of the need to react better could have some traction with other PDs in this state. I'll be hoping for that kind of outcome here, and throughout our country, really.

merlinmurph · #15 05-26-2015, 05:18 PM

After reading that letter, I have a lot of respect for the chief. That's not an easy letter to write and he pulled it off admirably.

I heard about Richard's death about a week ago and it hit me hard because I had met Richard way back in the early 90's. I never saw him again, but that one meeting was so impactful, I still remember the guy after 20+ years. A wonderful person.