There is a bizarre case out of Boise, Idaho where a group of five teenagers were injured when a SUV crashed. The cause of the accident was a 16-year-old boy who reportedly decided it would be funny to light the armpit hair of the driver, 18-year-old Tristian Myers, on fire. Two of the girls, 15 and 16 years of age, were thrown from the Ford Bronco.
What is interesting is the array of charges for the rollover. Myers, the armpit victim, was charged with inattentive driving. I assume that the inattentive aspect was not trying to put out his flaming armpit.
The 16-year-old who used a lighter on his friend’s armpit was charged with interfering with the driver’s safety. However, none of the teenagers were wearing seat belts, which could prove important if any sue the driver for their injuries. There are indications that Myers may have been driving too fast at the time of the igniting of his arm pit.
Idaho has a seatbelt law but the penalty is quite small for any violation.
15-18, not a smidgeon of judgement in the car.
That’s scary how much a temptation cell phones are for teenagers (and many adults, too) while driving. Not worth it.
I’m smacking my head on the table.
It was so obvious that these were teenagers that it hardly needed to be stated.
I don’t fault the driver at all. “Inattentive driving?” He’d been lit ON FIRE. I don’t know many people who could drive well when a sensitive area was lit on fire. I blame the accident solely on the shoulders of the prankster. Unless it was discovered that the driver was going too fast, then he gets part of the blame. I blame the actual injuries partially on the prankster and partially on the passengers’ decision not to wear seat belts.
It kills me that these kids were not wearing a safety belt. A teenager from my extended family was lost from not wearing a seat belt. I have a rule in my car that we don’t move until everyone has their safety belt on.
So sad. Hope the kids recover.
So common at that age for pranks to go wrong.
Most of those charges are baloney. Clearly the teen lighting the driver’s armpit is at fault. We don’t need lawyers to tell us that OR to confuse the facts for personal gain.
What stupid people. I wonder if it runs in the family??? Oh well, time for an Irish Poem:
R Son???
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
There once was a driver named Myers,
And you never will guess what transpires!
His passenger twit
Lit a fire in his pit!
But there ain’t no miles for Frequent Fryers!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
At their age I have no problem seeing them doing this. When I was their age I had a friend who liked to get up to about 75 on the highway at night and turn the lights out on the car.
Shaking, I am w/ you! I have investigated thousands of auto accidents in civil lawsuits, which this one will certainly be. My career spans both before and after cell phones. Inattentive driving accident lawsuits EXPLODED in all demographics, but particularly w/ young people, when cell phones became ubiquitous the last 15 or so years. Prior to cell phones, the radio was the biggest distraction. I have investigated hundreds of auto accidents, many fatalities, w/ the cause being cell phone use. The first thing you do when investigating is get the cell phone records, showing the phone was in use. I have interviewed witnesses who were on the other end of a cell phone call when the driver was killed.
I was at a gas station waiting for the half blind guy to finish up in the pee room. I was in the doorway looking out at some schmuck in a car who was waiting for his old lady to get out of the womans room. Finally, she came out. He put on his seat belt. started the car, picked up his cigarette lighted that and held it in the left hand, picked up his smartphone and started texting with his left. With his knees he steered the steering wheel as he backed out and turned the car and thence went off the parking lot.
That’s ‘pour’ some gas….
I hope that the kids were not seriously injured. As for the citation given for “inattentive driving”, the driver seems primarily “guilty” of. driving in a jurisdiction like Idaho. Mr Darien Roseen commited the same ” offense” of driving in Idaho ( see ROSEEN V. IDAHO),),and he was also cited for ” inattentive driving.
I think the inattentive driving might be a weak charge if the crash was proximately caused by the hair lighting. I haven’t read the collision report but speeding is not necessarily inattentive.
Inattentive driving is often used as a “catch all” charge for accidents that are not easily fit into violations of particular and more specific traffic violations.
WHEN WILL THEY GET IT? it seems the youth of today are born minus brains everyday we hear and read stories of people dying from texting,drinking,talking, etc while driving and yet they pay no attention because somewhere down the line they think they are super humans i find it hard to blame myers for what the idiot friend did though it says myers may key word may have been driving to fast. the thought process would be they may have made it safely if myers was driving at speed all had on seatbelts and the idiot boy hadnt thought it funny to set someone on fire while driving. i sure hope his parents are well off!!!!
Stinky case.