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I just need to be emotional here, so bear with me. How could anyone hit a pedestrian and just keep going? What kind of human being would be so cruel??!
RIP Weston. My heart breaks for your mother, brothers and loved ones.
This makes me wonder--what is the basic cause of a hit and run in the first place, I mean the run part? Say I am a legal, insured, sober driver, and a drunk person staggers in front of my car suddenly on a fast moving highway, in a scenario where hitting him is unavoidable. How liable am I, legally? I've been told the driver is always at fault no matter what, but it's one of those things I've never looked up. I know for a fact I would call 911, not just because I have a conscience but because the guilt would make me insane. But the thought that I might go to jail for something I had no control over is scary.
Otherwise, I suppose the person could be DUI, or otherwise driving illegally.
This makes me wonder--what is the basic cause of a hit and run in the first place, I mean the run part? Say I am a legal, insured, sober driver, and a drunk person staggers in front of my car suddenly on a fast moving highway, in a scenario where hitting him is unavoidable. How liable am I, legally? I've been told the driver is always at fault no matter what, but it's one of those things I've never looked up. I know for a fact I would call 911, not just because I have a conscience but because the guilt would make me insane. But the thought that I might go to jail for something I had no control over is scary.
Otherwise, I suppose the person could be DUI, or otherwise driving illegally.
I want to say Raleigh IS pretty safe, even downtown, but I'm used to scary cities (read: Florida) and I live in the "other" (high crime) NC city. So my view of safe/unsafe may be skewed. I've never felt scared in downtown Raleigh, though, and I am a high-vigilance person. So I think he betook himself somewhere. But where?
the indication that one or more groups of people saw him lying on the sidewalk certainly don't speak well for his state of mind. it's possible he was laying down and the driver didn't see him. there's also a higher probability that someone driving at 3:00am on a saturday morning is drunk. or maybe both.
borndem-
another thought on that path from the convention center to the highway, isn't it kind of rough between those two places? Talking about it with friends last night, someone said "I don't know how he would make it to where he was found without being robbed."
This case caught my eye as I am from NC and went to college at UNC-CH. Consequently, I've spent a lot of time in and around Raleigh.
A few things: 1. Until we know more, let's not give the Shaw U. students any blame for not calling the authorities. When I was in college, I'd call authorities/intervene only if a stranger was having a medical emergency or in imminent danger (woman passed out half naked in frat house, etc), especially if that person said no to my offers of help. Downtown Raleigh is pretty populated at night; I'd assume his friends would be along to collect him momentarily, and if not the cops are always around and cabs can be found. If this is a case of the deceased simply drinking too much and wandering into traffic, he unfortunately bears the responsibility for his own actions.
2. There have been several hit and run cases where the driver didn't know they hit a person. In Atlanta I remember a child getting out of his home at night and wondering alone onto I-285 at 4am. A driver hit and killed the child - didn't realize it until some days later after hearing the story on the news. The driver thought s/he'd hit an animal. Depending on the circumstances (like if this young man collapsed in the road or had fallen), it's possible the driver thought it was a deer. Again, I tend to give benefit of the doubt until I know otherwise. Especially when it's dark outside.
This is a terrible case - I feel for his friends and family. My son shares a name with this young man.
I'm so angry about the guys who saw him on the side of the road and did nothing but take a picture. You don't leave an impaired person on the side of the road...this was predictable and preventable. I've chased ducks off the side of the road before, picked up stray cats and dogs, even dragged a giant box to the other side of the rail so it wouldn't cause an accident.
If you see a person in distress ANYWHERE (and especially somewhere they could be hurt) call 911. How is that not common sense??