Of course, it wasn't "parked" there. The gentleman (I use this term loosely) driving apparently lost control of his vehicle due to a wetspot in the road and found his way into my lawn, pulling a 360 degree spin (180 in the road, 180 in my yard). Might I add also missing a phone poll and a tree in my yard both by nearly 12 inches. So upon rushing outside, assuming this guy could possibly be hurt I tell my wife to call the police and report it while I check things out.
Of course, once I get outside, I further realize the gravity of the situation. Traffic is stopped to a halt on a rather 'busy' main road (Six Flags is about 1.5 miles south on the same road) and as I step onto my porch, I hear him fire up his engine and start pulling away. So I politely yell "What the f**k are you doing?" as he begins to pull out into traffic without even thinking about what other vehicles are in the road. I immediately run up behind and catch the plate number, as well as a description of the guy who, unfortunately, is half dressed and not very 'purdy' if you know what I mean, as well as (from the driving) rather drunk. This guy tears away, while it's obvious he's damaged his vehicle since one of his rear tires are off the seam and the front end is obviously damaged. I say "tear" away, while it sounds like this and seems like this, but in reality after about 50 ft he can't go faster than 35 mph (what a getaway!)
So I go inside, take the phone from my wife and relay all the information to the local authorities. I spend the next 25 minutes waiting for a cruiser to show up and take my report. I go to inspect my lawn to find it rather torn to shit. When the police officer arrives, he informs me they caught him (not too far down the street where the genius had to park because of vehicle damage). However they claim that he is "not" drunk or under the influence. They also tell me he claims he works for a landscaping service and will be by tomorrow to fix the mess. I snarl at the officer, and get a little irrate as it's obvious this guy likely got off without a slap on the wrist. I told the officer I thought it was rather absurd that someone should be allowed to damage personal property and not at least get a ticket or further punishment. So I ask, what do you think should have happened to this 'primo' specimen of a human being?
What shall thy punishment be?
| Ticket & Vehicle Impound: |    | 0 (0.0%) |
| At least retained for reckless driving: | | 8 (33.3%) |
| Warning: | | 1 (4.2%) |
| Ticket/Arrested for vandalism: | | 9 (37.5%) |
| A swift kick in the nuts by yours truely: | | 6 (25.0%) |
| Total: | 24 |
Let me further elaborate quickly to help you visualize the issue. It had rained maybe 30-45 minutes prior to the accident, but only a sprinkle. I live on a "very" main road, however it's straight as a freakin' arrow with no bends or turns at all. There are numerous side streets where traffic tends to break, as well as myself living on the corner of the street entrance to the Senior Housing section where there's often someone of, we'll say "post-70" age trying to make the turn at an alarmingly slow rate. My front yard is rather big, and I might add that we play with our 1 year old daughter in both front, back, and side yard rather often. We have no fence or landscaping where the damage was done, however if there had been anything there it would surely be destroyed. Had my wife and daughter been in the yard playing, they surely could have possibly been injured. He was going fast, from the look of it, since he managed to damage approximately 100 ft of my front yard in his final 180 degrees of his spin.
I'm curious what people would expect as a result of this, from a "crime vs. punishment" point of view. I understand, clearly, that the nature of the problem is an accident. However it's no accident that this guy clearly and immediately took off to try to avoid any punishment, turning it in my honest opinion into an act of vandalism rather than a simple accident.
Edited, Sep 10th 2007 1:05pm by Ryneguy
Edited, Sep 10th 2007 1:08pm by Ryneguy
