[Peace-discuss] interaction with Champaign police / driver did all the wrong things

[Karen Medina]

John W., that would be the police's assumption as well.

I am not saying the bad driver was innocent of anything. But I am
saying that acting so suspiciously is a stupid thing to do.

Also, if you are going to drive on a suspended license, then drive
extremely carefully.

-karen medina

On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 2:22 PM, John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com> wrote:
> You don't say it outright here, Karen, but it's pretty clear to me that the
> occupants of the car had drugs or other contraband in the car which they
> were trying to dispose of.  And I imagine that they were arrested primarily
> for possession of said contraband, with the accident and reckless driving
> probably tacked on for good measure.  I'm sure they were also going to be
> tested at the police station for drugs and maybe booze, which would make it
> a DWI as well.
>
> John
>
> On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 2:04 PM, Karen Medina <kmedina67 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Peace-discuss,
>>
>> I read David Green's experience with the wild car and the police not
>> even feigning interest.
>>
>> I had an interesting experience this morning on my way to work the
>> AWARE table at the Farmer's Market.
>>
>> Windsor and S. First St., Champaign (I was going to pick up tee-shirts
>> at Stuart Levy's house).
>>
>> The event would have been a great scenario for the movies on what not
>> to do when during a police interaction.
>>
>> A car wanting to turn right whizzed by on the right of a line of
>> vehicles stopped at the traffic light. The car used the bicycle lane
>> as if it were a right turn lane (which it is not wide enough to do).
>> The car turned right without stopping. Just as the car made it to the
>> curve, the traffic light turned green and the line began to move. The
>> first vehicle in the line was also turning right, but it was a fire
>> truck tanker and had not seen or heard the car pulling along side it,
>> nor had the fast moving car noticed that the light had changed and
>> that the fire truck was going to turn right too. The fire truck and
>> the car clipped each other. The car's back bumper fell to the ground.
>> The car did stop briefly.
>>
>> That was stupid driving, but the next part was absolutely the wrong
>> thing to do.
>>
>> Rather than remain stopped where traffic could still get around it,
>> the car driver drove down the road and turned left into the drive for
>> the apartments. It turned around in the parking lot and stopped by the
>> dumpster. Then the people in the car got out and were walking around
>> rearanging stuff in the car and visiting the dumpster. The police
>> arrived very quickly. There were three Champaign police cars within a
>> quarter mile of that corner, watching traffic. None of them were close
>> enough to see event at the corner, but were close enough to come
>> almost immediately.
>>
>> The police did let the fire truck people that the car driver was
>> driving on a suspended license. This was wrong of them to do.
>>
>> There were 4 officers talking to the car driver.
>>
>> I watched them handcuff the driver of the car.
>>
>> One policeman took my statement, but kept trying to put words in my
>> mouth. I was the car immediately behind the fire truck in the line of
>> the waiting cars. I had the best view of the event, and could see that
>> the fire truck and the car were going to collide before they did.
>> Neither of the drivers involved even saw the other vehicle before they
>> collided.
>>
>> It was an interesting experience.
>>
>> -karen medina



-- 
karen medina
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
"In this universe, we are given two gifts: the ability to love, and
the ability to ask questions." (Mary Oliver, American poet)
A third gift is the ability to laugh. (Jenifer, a friend)