Posted by Cam W. on August 22, 2000, at 23:13:23
Sorry, to bother everyone with this. I know it's not really a medical question, but it is affecting my mental health.
I just found out today that the gentleman who killed my daughter, Suzanne, probably will not be charged either criminally or with a traffic offence because there are no reliable witnesses (although many people saw it happen and saw him driving "aggressively). Wouldn't one think that the guy who was crossing in the lit crosswalk with her and was clipped be a reliable witness? I think that driver hit and killed her is fairly self evident. I don't want to get rich, I just would like some justice. Perhaps a proper crosswalk with stop lights or maybe an pedestrian overpass at the site.
I don't know laws in Florida, but this seems a little strange. Do I have to persue civil litigation ala O.J.? This guy is 23 years old and was driving a $30,000 truck with $10,000 insurance. He works in a restaurant, so I doubt you can squeeze blood from a stone (although, sometimes I would like to squeeze his head - but I am really not a violent person). Do I sue the resort who invited her to the karaoke night and didn't guarantee her safe return? Do I sue the guy who blocked her view of the truck and stepped out of the way before he was hit, leaving her to face the truck? Do I sue the city for not providing a safe passageway across a busy street, where 2 other people have been killed? Do I sue the police force for doing a drug and alcohol test on my daughter, but not on the driver? I mean for cripe sakes, she was already more than halfway across the street when hit.
Our lawyer up here has been ineffectual in procuring a U.S. lawyer for us (after all, it's only been two and a half months since the accident). I shouldn't really complain, though. She is doing this as a gratis favor for us and her contact in the states hasn't returned her calls.
The $10,000 insurance, which I haven't yet collected, doesn't cover returning her body to Canada and the funeral, let alone a lost vacation that we saved 2 years for. We still have six days on our non-refundable Disney passes, which cost us $1700 CDN with discount (although Disney did refund Suz's ticket - that was nice of them). We will be going back in another couple of years, so I guess this is a moot point. Besides, we owe CarolAnn and her husband a very nice dinner for the help that they gave us.
Sorry for the anger. Thanks for letting me vent - a sad Cam :´^(
poster:Cam W.
thread:170
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20000813/msgs/170.html