Grandma got a slap on the hand

[FargoFeej]

Grandma is now contesting the fine and the citation!

She has filed to have the citation reviewed and hopes to have it removed from her record.

 

[ScottyUSN]

I grew up in S FL where blue hair was all too common! The problem is the 90 something year olds who are still driving.

I'd rather be on the road with drunks than these old people who's family and friends as well as the state and federal government

are to blame for allowing them to continue to get behind the wheel of a car.

 

[DELETE-PLEASE]

Out of curiosity, regardless of what charges were brought up, isn't this probably one of the more legitimate reasons to have a lawyer and sue? I mean if McDonald's can get sued for coffee being too hot and it burning someone's lap, I'm pretty sure any decent lawyer should be able to help send a message by suing the offender (who was written up for being "at fault" so there's proof right there) for a death, hospitalizations, and, if those good 'ol crime shows aren't lying, "pain and suffering"?

Alexi

 

[wfooshee]

The family could bring civil action against the driver for punitive damages, I guess, but ciil action is expensive to pursue. Criminal action is brought by the government, civil action is brought by the victims, at their own expense. It's not like you can go to the bank and borrow $30,000 with a guaranteed plan to produce 2.75 million.

I know my family certainly wouldn't be able to do anything like that.

 

[Duezzer]

If someone will cover the costs:

Return flight to Florida

Lodging if required

Rental of a Big Truck

And the $20 fine I will get for crossing the center line and taking out an elderly lady who just killed one and mamed the other

I'll fix this up. Just need an address/picture and some time.

Vengence:

Best served COLD

 

[FargoFeej]

Here is all that available on the newswires in ND tonight:

https://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-...1cc4c03286.html

At the time of the accident she was returning from the Spirit Lake Casino. No alcohol involved though. She hit the third and fourth riders in the group of four riding in a staggered formation.

Regarding a civil suit: she would have nothing to take, so you would need to shoot for the insurance company's money. If that is not possible, then there's no hope for an award worth suing for.

 

[FargoFeej]

Today's update from the Fargo Forum (Fargo, ND)

OBERON, N.D. – A 92-year-old woman who is fighting a traffic citation in a fatal motorcycle accident in May is contesting the charge that she crossed the center line of the road.

Faith Mitzel, who lives in rural Oberon, said witnesses can testify that she was not at fault in the accident, which occurred at about dusk on May 19 along a stretch of state Highway 57 in a road construction zone near Fort Totten.

She was traveling south near the entrance to Sullys Hill National Game Preserve after just leaving the Spirit Lake Casino, where she had played bingo that evening.

Mitzel said a trucker following her told authorities that northbound motorcycles were traveling in both the north- and southbound lanes of Highway 57 just before the accident occurred.

“Bikers were lights all across the road,” she said.

“I was driving slow because it was all dug up for construction,” she said, “and there was a car behind me and a truck. The girl behind me was going to pass me, but she didn’t because of the bright lights, so she pulled back.”

An administrative hearing is scheduled Monday in Benson County District Court in Minnewaukan.

According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mitzel’s 2000 Oldsmobile crossed the center line, struck a 1980 Harley-Davidson driven by Jason Hunter, 33, then continued south and hit a 2006 Harley-Davidson, carrying driver James Leidholt, 37, and his passenger, Sheri Leidholt, 30. Hunter and the Leidholts, who were traveling together, are from Devils Lake.

Sheri Leidholt was pronounced dead at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo the morning after the accident. Hunter had a foot amputated in early June, according to his CaringBridge website.

The Highway Patrol and the Benson County state’s attorney’s office decided to charge Mitzel with crossing the center line of the road without overtaking another vehicle. State’s Attorney James Wang did not immediately respond to a request to discuss the case.

Mitzel said she initially paid the $20 fine. But after what she called inaccurate stories in newspapers and on radio and television, she hired a Jamestown attorney to represent her.

The case has been a hot topic on talk radio throughout the Red River Valley. Topics have included whether a $20 fine is appropriate in a fatal accident, whether elderly drivers should be removed from the road, and whether she has any business fighting the charge.

“Some people want to take away my license,” she said. “I can drive. The last time I got my eyes checked, the doctor said there’s nothing wrong with my eyes.”

She claims the accident report is inaccurate, and that police should have more thoroughly investigated the actions of the motorcyclists.

She also said her vehicle was towed from the scene and that she has not been able to find out where it is. She was told that an insurance claim of $2,400 to $2,700 has been issued, but that she has not seen it.

“There are so many unanswered questions,” she said.

“The ugly part is that people have been saying things about her,” said Loretta Stensland, an Oberon woman and a friend who often accompanies Mitzel on her trips to the casino, or to Devils Lake. “They act like she doesn’t have any business being alive. It was an accident, and you can’t change that.”

---------------------------

Last night a local TV news broadcast stated there are witnesses who say that the motorcyclists "had been in the bar all afternoon drinking" before the accident. The ND Highway Patrol did not check any of those involved for alcohol, whether survivors or not!

So, there may be more to the story than the brief press reports indicated...

 

[Geezer]

Well, if she really believes that she was on her side of the road then I don't blame her for wanting to clear it up. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

 

[HaulinAshe]

All too often the truth lies between two stories. With such marginal evidence gathered, we may never know the whole story.

My sympathies and prayers go out to all those involved, regardless of which side of the yellow line they were on.

 

[FargoFeej]

This nugget has not been reported before, was on WDAZ news (Grand Forks, ND, 90 miles from accident site) on June 15.

Since then no article I have found mentions this. Maybe the news media doesn't think it means much...

What do forum members think?

92-Year-Old Gets $20 Ticket In Deadly Accident

Two people are being charged in connection with a car-motorcycle crash that killed a Devils Lake woman.

Jason Hunter and Jim Leidholt of Devils Lake were seriously injured in a car-motorcycle crash north of Ft. Totten on May 19th.

Jim's wife, 30-year-old Sheri Leidholt, died. She was a passenger on the motorcycle that was struck by an on-coming car on State Highway-57.

92-year-old Faith Mitzel of Oberon was driving the car. She is being charged with driving on the left half of the road. That is a $20.00 ticket.

Leidholt is being charged with Driving a Vehicle Other Than Permitted By Class Licence (no motorcycle class).

------------------

Emphasis mine after title.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You know...The more I read on this, the less I think those guys in North Dakota did a thorough investigation. Around here, fatal crashes are treated like homicide scenes and every piece of evidence that can be gathered is gathered. All drivers, dead, alive, injured, uninjured would be checked for alchol content, and the evidence left on the road is always a very important piece of the puzzle. Most times, Point Of Impact is pretty easy to find. I wonder what's going on.

 

[Potential]

It does sound more like it is the motorcyclists' fault after all. They now sound like stereotypical bar-hopping no-gear-wearing HD riders. Maybe the driver crossed the center line to try to avoid one of the motorcyclists that was on her side of the road?

Frankly though, even if there were no accident, I'm shocked crossing the center line is $20 in ND. Here in CA going 5 mph over the speed limit on the interstate is over $200.

 

[FargoFeej]

Latest update, from The Fargo Forum, July 23:

The 92-year-old Oberon, N.D., woman who received a $20 traffic ticket in connection with a May 19 fatal car-motorcycle accident is dropping her legal challenge.

Faith Mitzel “no longer request(s) an administrative traffic hearing in this matter,” attorney Scott Sandness, said in a letter to Benson County State’s Attorney James Wang. The hearing had been scheduled for Monday.

Sheri Leidholt, 30, died May 20 at a Fargo hospital as the result of the accident, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Leidholt, who was pregnant at the time, was a passenger on a motorcycle operated by her husband, James Leidholt, 37, Devils Lake. The driver of the other motorcycle, Jason Hunter, 33, also of Devils Lake, had a foot amputated as a result of the accident.

The highway patrol said Mitzel’s southbound 2000 Oldsmobile crossed the center line of N.D. Highway 57 and struck two northbound motorcycles around dusk on May 19. The traffic citation indicated she “drove on left half of roadway in not overtaking.”

Mitzel had claimed after the accident that the Highway Patrol’s investigation was wrong, that she had not crossed the centerline.

“Our investigation indicated she did cross the centerline,” said Capt. Kyle Ternes, of the Highway Patrol in Devils Lake. “There was no excessive speed on anyone’s behalf. The motorcyclists were all in the proper lane. And there was no alcohol involved.”

Hunter was cited for operating a motorcycle without liability insurance.

James Leidholt was cited for not having a motorcycle-class operator’s license.

After the accident, the Highway Patrol made a request to the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s licensing and registration division to order Mitzel to retake a driving test. NDDOT suspended her license on June 2.

“That’s a fine result,” Wang said.

-------------------------------------

The Forum comments page has many hearsay statements saying she is a notoriously poor driver, often crossed the centerline, and that local residents warn others about her. Also, the HP states that no alcohol was involved, so "the witnesses who saw the motorcyclists in the bar all afternoon" did not exist or the riders were there but not drinking. Two bikers were cited, one for no motorcycle endorsement and the other for no insurance (the one who has the huge medical bills and had his foot amputatedr. Hopefully he has health insurance that will help.) The truck driver who saw the motorcycles "all over the road" apparently does not exist except in the mind of the car driver.

The $20 fine? Well, I think many of our fines will be rather small compared to other states. Our economy is pretty healthy due to the oil fields and our state has a huge surplus, so we do not have to use fines and license fees to make up deficits. But crossing the centerline when no one is in the other lane, and is just observed by the HP, is probably worth just a $20 fine. There should be a criminal level for a case like this. I do know that if it was me (age 59, employed, lots of insurance) who crossed that line and killed two people and maimed another, there would be far more legal action pending against me than a mere $20 fine.

I wish the survivors the best.

 

[FargoFeej]

The latest on the now 93 y/o who killed two motorcyclists:

https://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/28...group/homepage/

Good grief! TEN vehicles registered to her?

The last paragragh seems to indicate that if she gets her license back from the State that she will be free to drive again. I just do not see her getting her license back though, not ever.

 

[FargoFeej]

Published August 23 2010

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) — A 93-year-old Oberon woman in trouble for alleged driving offenses is set for a jury trial Oct. 6.

By: Associated Press

Faith Mitzel could face two months in jail and $2,000 in fines if convicted.

Mitzel's driver's license was suspended following a May crash in which authorities say she hit two motorcycles, killing a woman. She was fined $20.

Mitzel was then stopped in early August on a traffic violation and subsequently arrested for driving with a suspended license and not having insurance. Both are misdemeanors.

 

[FJRBluesman]

So tragic on so many fronts.

When I was taught to drive, and even today in Cali, it is a privilege to drive, not a right. So take away her privilege before she does more harm to others.

 

[lonesoldier84]

The cops REALLY need to do a better job - crossing the line for no reason (and killing and maiming people in the process) only warrants a charge of 'driving over the center line'.
How about; Driving without due care; Driving at an excessive rate of speed (faster than grandma could control); Driving in a manner resulting in death; Unsafe driving (for grandmna, that would be at any rate faster than parked); Driving while impaired (her age was the cause of the impairments, not alcohol, presuming she didn't just fall asleep (which is more likely - and I know, because my 90 year old father is still driving, with the full permission and after testing by the local authorities - and HE falls asleep at lightrs and such), but that doesn't make her any better a driver) and from there the state charges her with manslaughter.

However, had the riders run a speed cam at 2 over, you can be certain thay they'd have been ticketed and fined $135 each in the name of 'safety'.

I have nothing to add. Everything here +1,000,000.

this is so horrible

edit: actually i do have something to add. i have wondered why they dont force people to get special driving competency tests every year after they turn 65?

 

[Big Sky]

The cops REALLY need to do a better job - crossing the line for no reason (and killing and maiming people in the process) only warrants a charge of 'driving over the center line'.
How about; Driving without due care; Driving at an excessive rate of speed (faster than grandma could control); Driving in a manner resulting in death; Unsafe driving (for grandmna, that would be at any rate faster than parked); Driving while impaired (her age was the cause of the impairments, not alcohol, presuming she didn't just fall asleep (which is more likely - and I know, because my 90 year old father is still driving, with the full permission and after testing by the local authorities - and HE falls asleep at lightrs and such), but that doesn't make her any better a driver) and from there the state charges her with manslaughter.

However, had the riders run a speed cam at 2 over, you can be certain thay they'd have been ticketed and fined $135 each in the name of 'safety'.

I have nothing to add. Everything here +1,000,000.

this is so horrible

edit: actually i do have something to add. i have wondered why they dont force people to get special driving competency tests every year after they turn 65?

IMHO, they don't "force" seniors to take driving competency tests because seniors vote enmasse and are the most powerful voting block. What politician, or bureaucrat for that matter, wants to face their wrath? And, man, would they be wrathful! Just ask my 82-year-old father-in-law (who still drives and is scary).

 

[rickysnickers]

Agreed, this is very terrible. However, it's up to the state attorney to issue the correct charge/charges, not the police. Her license should and would be yanked immediately here in CA. She should also be charged with at least vehicular manslaughter.

Rick

The cops REALLY need to do a better job - crossing the line for no reason (and killing and maiming people in the process) only warrants a charge of 'driving over the center line'.
How about; Driving without due care; Driving at an excessive rate of speed (faster than grandma could control); Driving in a manner resulting in death; Unsafe driving (for grandmna, that would be at any rate faster than parked); Driving while impaired (her age was the cause of the impairments, not alcohol, presuming she didn't just fall asleep (which is more likely - and I know, because my 90 year old father is still driving, with the full permission and after testing by the local authorities - and HE falls asleep at lightrs and such), but that doesn't make her any better a driver) and from there the state charges her with manslaughter.

However, had the riders run a speed cam at 2 over, you can be certain thay they'd have been ticketed and fined $135 each in the name of 'safety'.

I have nothing to add. Everything here +1,000,000.

this is so horrible

edit: actually i do have something to add. i have wondered why they dont force people to get special driving competency tests every year after they turn 65?

 

[rickysnickers]

Yep, absolutely right. I actually had my grandmother's license revoked because she was such a horrible driver. She failed the driving test miserably. It was a hard thing to do, but it needed to be done to protect others on the road.

Rick

So tragic on so many fronts.
When I was taught to drive, and even today in Cali, it is a privilege to drive, not a right. So take away her privilege before she does more harm to others.