Who Will Be Blamed?

Tragedy occurred here on Long Island last night when a police car crashed with a motorist, leaving the young driver dead. The officer had just begun his pursuit of a reported 15 motorcycles speeding along a busy stretch of road. As per procedure, the police car had both its sirens and flashing lights on. Unfortunately, the driver of a 1993 Ford Mustang failed to heed the sounds and signs of pursuit and entered an intersection at the same time as the police car. The subsequent crash proved fatal for the civilian.

(A full article on the incident can be found here.)

I can only imagine what the family of the deceased motorist is going through, or the thoughts now plaguing the officer involved.

Unfortunately, this being the land of “it couldn’t be my fault, I have rights, not responsibilities” I can imagine the lawsuits that will surely follow this incident. I suspect that the Suffolk County Police Department will be sued. There will be outrage over a high speed pursuit that led to a bystanders death. And make no mistake, that death is a tragedy.

However, it is the police’s responsibility to bring wrong-doers, especially those who are a potential menace to public safety, to justice. By pursuing the speeding motorcycle gang, the officer was doing his duty. And indeed, the motorcycle riders did prove to be a danger to public safety.
And while I hate to blame the victim, I must wonder why the Mustang’s driver ignored the sirens and flashers? Did he not hear them for some reason - perhaps being distracted by cell phone use or loud music? Did he hear the sirens and choose to ignore them? We will never be sure.

Ultimately, it’s the motorcycle gang that is to blame. They created the public menace. They were the safety issue that led to the pursuit. And unfortunately, they escaped because of the accident that they caused. It’s their fault. But I fear that a hard working public servant will take the fall.

And that’s just bent…

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