I hit an extension ladder laying lengthways in LA on the I-5 with my motorcycle, pulling a small m/c trailer while vacationing in California while touring on my Harley. Morning traffic was 'stop and haul-ass' running from -0- to 70 to 70 to -0-, constantly. I was following my spouse on her m/c in unbelievable rush-hour traffic.
My m/c and trailer went airborne when I hit the first rung. Miraculously I was doing the '70' and cleared the last rung with the trailer just barely hitting that one. My landing just happened to be about as fortunate as possible. All was well, except that huge brown spot in my britches.
I'll never forget that experience but I can put it aside with hitting a mattress while on my m/c in Houston on the I-610 and dodging a shovel falling off of a landscape trailer in Houston on the Pierce Elevated.
There no excuse for allowing loads to be transported without properly securing them. Sure - one may have to stop occasionally to check their loads, but please - consider the unsuspecting traveler behind you. You may save a life!
me too. i took a train from milwaukee to chicago to buy my first new car, a 1979 honda civic. they ran out of allocation so they told me i was first on the list for 1980 civic, at an increased price.That's funny. I did the same thing, took Amtrak out to Chicago where the dealers compete pretty fiercely, to buy my Volkswagen Alltrack manual-trans. Got it for 6 grand off msrp, significant % for a small car. Last of the manual-trans sport wagons!
Shocked that your location is californiaI could see it being considered negligent homicide if laws regarding the securing of equipment were broken, or reckless homicide (if he's been cited before).
Regardless, it's involuntary homicide, and he should be tried for that - even if he doesn't get jail, this needs to follow him - his actions directly resulted in someone dying.
Glad you survived it!Not towing, but I lost my f250 to a driver on the wrong side of the road, and high on drugs. I just found out the she had run another truck into the ditch a few miles before me. Head on, totaled my truck. I had just purchased a new land plane and had it loaded in the back for my truck, but at the last minute I noticed that the blades on the land plane had no angle. They took it out of my truck. It might have come into the back seat if it had been there. Front hit, but cracked the skid plate around my gas tank. Broke the back shocks. I am being told they will give me cash value, not replacement. Prices here are plus $10,000 about bluebook, if you can find one. Also seeing doctor due to shoulder and neck. How do they leave people like this on the highway. I think she had at lease 2 DUI, as well as some drugs.
Not towing, but I lost my f250 to a driver on the wrong side of the road, and high on drugs. I just found out the she had run another truck into the ditch a few miles before me. Head on, totaled my truck. I had just purchased a new land plane and had it loaded in the back for my truck, but at the last minute I noticed that the blades on the land plane had no angle. They took it out of my truck. It might have come into the back seat if it had been there. Front hit, but cracked the skid plate around my gas tank. Broke the back shocks. I am being told they will give me cash value, not replacement. Prices here are plus $10,000 about bluebook, if you can find one. Also seeing doctor due to shoulder and neck. How do they leave people like this on the highway. I think she had at lease 2 DUI, as well as some drugs.
I know it's strange, but I think if you do something that results in killing someone, you shouldn't be allowed to do it any more.Shocked that your location is california
Is this horrible? Yes. Should he be liable for damages? Probably. Should he get a felony on his record for something falling off his truck? We don't have enough information to decide.
FWIW my best friend and another friend died on my 16th birthday when a guy hit him. he blew a .05 so not "DUI". Eight years later same guy hit a family of five and killed the mother and a daughter, again blowing below the legal limit. Trust me, I don't think he should still be breathing let alone driving. But that's different, he took an action then made a decision to further endanger others even after past experience.I know it's strange, but I think if you do something that results in killing someone, you shouldn't be allowed to do it any more.
He killed someone.
If it was "accidental", that's the breaks - he shouldn't be able to drive any more regardless.
Hitch a ride with someone else, whatever.
I don't believe in giving someone a second chance to kill people the same way.
I also don't think people who drive drunk should ever get to drive again.
I'm pretty sure you'll find that neither these opinions aren't particularly widely held in California; I think it's more a product of your own vision that makes you jump to conclusions in this regard - most people seem to think that Californians just bend over backwards for miscreants, don't they?