Do cyclists get a fair shake with the law?
It just came to my attention that Whitney Decesaris was never charged with this:
§ 2-210. Manslaughter by vehicle or vessel -- Criminal negligence
. (a) "Vehicle" defined. -- In this section, "vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, streetcar, locomotive, engine, and train.
. (b) Prohibited. -- A person may not cause the death of another as the result of the person's driving, operating, or controlling a vehicle or vessel in a criminally negligent manner.
. (c) Criminal negligence. -- For purposes of this section, a person acts in a criminally negligent manner with respect to a result or a circumstance when:
. . (1) the person should be aware, but fails to perceive, that the person's conduct creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such a result will occur; and
. . (2) the failure to perceive constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that would be exercised by a reasonable person.
. (d) Exception. -- It is not a violation of this section for a person to cause the death of another as the result of the person's driving, operating, or controlling a vehicle or vessel in a negligent manner.
. (e) Violation. -- A violation of this section is criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle or vessel.
. (f) Penalty. -- A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $ 5,000 or both.
Note: this is a misdemeanor charge and not a criminal charge like what the Grand Jury acquitted her of.
Remember Nathan Krasnopoler when the police refused to acknowledge the law that gave cyclists the right-of-way in a bike lane? It looks like something similar is going on here.
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