Imagine getting married, having a great day of celebrations. And what exactly should be “do” about it? Pre-emptive summary executions? That would actually be a good one. Solves the problem, keeps drunks off the road, kills fewer people in this case and saves the taxpayers 50+ years of costs of incarceration. I think we are on to something. What the hell is the deal with these seatbelts? If that happened even ONE time, seatbelts should have been changed to the five point harness like flight attendants wear. I once watched a heavily intoxicated man pass by my car, sit in his, and drive away. I did not call the cops. I don’t know what exactly I was thinking, but perhaps something of the “someone else will do this” kind. Later that night I learned from the news that that person had hit and killed a mother and a son riding their bikes in a restricted-driving zone. I have a lot of things to regret in my life, but that cowardice of mine is something I will never forgive myself for.
I have heard of this before from the over the shoulder belt. Here, they thought they were doing the right thing buckling her in. Horrible.
And then, after all the fun ends and it is time to go home, your parents, your sister, brother-in-law and their daughter get into a limo to drive home before you head off to the hotel with your husband/wife. Bless you, that is a terrible thought to live with - but you are far from the only one who would have reacted that way. Most of us would be too uncomfortable with stopping a heavily drunk person on the street and too lazy to call the cops. Who knows, maybe your comment will make some people react differently and prevent a future accident.
An hour later, they are hit head-on by a vehicle, driven by a man who’s consumed 3 times the legal alcohol limit. Yeah…my cousin was killed by a drunk driver the year before last on Thanksgiving. The driver had a previous DUI. She was convicted of murder. Another 16 year old girl was also in the car and killed.
Life lesson? When I see a driver behaving erratically, especially in the evening, I call that shit in immediately. Let the cops nab them and hopefully they learn their lesson or at least get stopped before they hurt someone
Imagine being one of the first responders, arriving at the scene.
Getting out of your car, seeing a man with a broken back crawling on the ground. The unrecognizable body of a dead limo driver.
And then the horror:
Seeing a bloodied mother holding the decapitated head of her daughter in her hands.
Her daughter - hours before a flower girl - now decapitated by her seat belt in the impact.
What should have been one of the best days of a family’s life became their unequivocal worst. The family shattered.
Because of this man:
Martin Heidgen chose to drive after having more than a dozen drinks. He is now serving 18 years to life in prison, where he will have to live with the fact that he killed two people, maimed three others, and caused the decapitation of a toddler.Don’t drink and drive. And if you know anyone who does - do something about it. For the people playing at home saying a seatbelt can’t decapitate a toddler, Google internal decapitation regarding babies and toddlers turned forward-facing in an ACTUAL child seat i.e. a seat specifically designed for babies and toddlers in the first place. Extended rearward-facing is something many parents and experts have been campaigning for - because seatbelts can and do cut small children in half in accidents! In Australia wearing seat belts is mandatory in every state. Seat belts are age appropriate. In other words toddlers must either be harnessed in properly with a booster seat or a ‘cradle'. There are heavy fines for people who don't harness there children properly. Kind of curious from a physics perspective. Why does a relatively small truck hit an enormous and “heavy” limo and kill not only the driver of the limo, but a toddler and maim people in the BACK of the limo, while the driver of the truck appears to have escaped without serious physical injury.
Over time we are learning that limos don’t seem to have the proper safety design and equipment.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not taking anything away from the drunk drivers responsibility, but I do wonder about the safety of these vehicles.
I wonder if the rules were bent for these kinds of transport because they were relatively low mileage and unregulated because it is hard to oversee the kinds of changes they make to a vehicle like this? When you start cutting and welding frames and adding massive length to a vehicle, you fundamentally change the design in ways that are likely not as safe as originally designed.
Loose fitting seat belts cause serious injury to the wearer. I don't know the circumstances regarding this toddler. It's to horrific to even think that an injury could be sustained by wearing a device that is supposed to save lives.
What a sad tragic day.
Picture Source Wikipedia
Thanks for Reading
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