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Last night, a stolen Mercedes-Benz, chased by the car's owner and police from a number of towns, barreled into a Honda Accord in New Milford, NJ. The Bergen Record reports that the Accord was ripped in half, killing a 10-year-old girl and critically injuring a 14-year-old boy (the car was driven by the 10-year-old's mother). The impact of the crash sent debris hundreds of feet. The Mercedes had apparently been left running when the owner went inside his house for another car's keys; when he saw his car was stolen, he called the police and tried to pursue Harold Saenz, 22, himself. A Bergen County prosecutor says police were not chasing the stolen car--just following. Saenz suffered minor injuries and taken into police custody; he was charged with felony murder and aggravated manslaughter.
NJ High-Speed Chase Leads to Child's Death
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The 'Benz was a 1990 E-class that the owner was slowly repairing, so this was obviously a joy ride gone terribly wrong. Horrible.
Another argument for mandatory abortion.
This is why the NYPD has instituted a no chase policy. It's not worth getting someone hurt over a car. This is an incredible loss. I hope that when the car thief gets to prison he discovers that fist can be a verb.
the owner should be charged as well!
asshole.
Car culture promotes crime, destruction and death.
Kar Kulture Kills
Bicycle culture promotes smug little nancy boys.
Drewo, I'd like to bury you and your ilk in my backyard so that in a couple million years future generations can use you as fuel for their hover cars.
Poor people promote crime, destruction, and death.
UnrepentantFenian - right back at you.
There's a strong argument for not producing vehicles capable of exceeding the speed limit or causing these kinds of tragic accidents, and yet we continue to specifically design these devices to be capable of hideous accidents, even a cursory glance at road-related fatalities should convince you that allowing people the responsibility of owning and operating a fast car is too much of a burden for the public.
We don't design lawnmowers or power tools without safety features to bring them in line with standards laid out by law, neither do we produce industrial machinery that is non-compliant with regulations, so why should private vehicles be any different?
So sad that a ten year old had to die for this. That family will never recover from this tragedy.
Why isn't the owner of the car to blame for this?
what a stupid gross sad horrible turn of events.
At cmdrogogov: I'm coming to your house and taking your steak knives. You could hurt yourself. See, it's a slippery slope. When they decide taking away your testicles because they cause aggression is a good idea, remember how we got there.
Instead lets put the blame where it belongs - on the jerkoff who stole someone's property and then took a life in an attempt to evade apprehension.
At Calrice City: For the same reason we don't arrest the rape victim who left their door unlocked. Just because the opportunity is there the onus is on you not to take it. Taking candy from a baby is easy but it is still a crime.
Don't blame the car. Don't blame the crime victim who tried to get his hard-earned property back. Blame the skell thief who rather than get a job and earn what he wants decided to take from others with no regard for the sanctity of human life. Fuck him.
fenian,
blaming the owner is not about his/her leaving the car keys, etc. its about initiating a high speed car chase. it is just plain stupid and reckless. did the owner really expect the thief to calmly pull over and give up the car?
unrep-f
you're missing the point, the jerk was the benz owner for leaving his keys in a running car in an obviously not so great neighborhood and for taking the law into his own hands- let the cops handle it and call your insurance company-duh.
Chasing a thief will only cause him to run, even most police get it and dont chase car thieves, they're eventually caught- its only a car.
A little more value on life may keep young punks, turned thief, turned murderer, out of the nations jails, a waste all around.
Condolences to the family.
#11- Car culture presents an easy and attractive target for the would-be criminal, and then to compound the crime, the pursuit of the fleeing criminal results in death - often of innocent people.
Over 40,000 dead Americans each year is proof enough that car culture is a prime destructive force in this country. I won't even get into the pollution and health issues.
And if over 40,000 Americans were dying each year while operating lawn mowers (or an average of 110 people a day) - there would be massive public and political outcry, with committees, hearings and an immediate ban on the sale and use of lawn mowers till the problems were addressed.But Americans have become inured to the automobile's deadly ways. Auto thefts or accidents rarely make the news unless it's sensational, while every other ad on television tries to sell us on the status and allure of fine automobiles. It's easy to pretend the annual death count is not there - but go ask the family or friends of one of those 40,000 Americans.
@ Peanuthead & nycgurl: You two make a good point. Perhaps chasing the thief was probably not the best course of action. Thought I'm sure it was a split second decision and not some carefully crafted A-Team type operation.
Drewo, you have a point, but don't forget the other consequences of car culture, too. The untold billions of gallons of gasoline used every year, the corrupt regimes propped up by oil money, the pollution, the greenhouse gases, etc.
Spirit: we can go on and on down that road.
And sometimes we do here.
@UnrepentantFenian
It's unlikely that someone would be able to "accidentally" kill someone with steak knives. Generally speaking I do like to take the tack of personal responsibility where appropriate, but a huge 4,000lb chunk of metal speeding around at 70mph is a pretty big responsibility - one I feel that most people have shown are not up to managing.
i so agree with the negative car culture. I used to think it was a nice goal to have in getting one. But im letting that go, yea they feel nice to drive and is a ego centerd get. But not worth dying over and surley i dont want to ever accidentally kill someone. So im letting it go.
Being progessive and compassionate leaves u the minority sadly but is worth it in the end knowing you question what the fat cats try to sell you. Cars and other things should not be status symbols. There to get you from point a to b without inflating your low self confidence along the way.
Ugh. The autophobes got their panties up their ass again...
@cmdrogogov:
There was nothing accidental about this. If used as it was intended, a car is as safe as a steak knife being used as intended. If you went into a crowd of people and began hurling steak knives around, you'd injure some people also.
Put a knife in a crazy person's hand, and the damage can be staggering, just as with a car.
@drewo:
And if over 40,000 Americans were dying each year while operating lawn mowers (or an average of 110 people a day) - there would be massive public and political outcry
But Americans have become inured to the automobile's deadly ways.
So, don't you think they would just become inured with the deaths via lawnmowers? Are you implying we should not use cars?
@scout1
Yes, you'd injure some people. But the odds of a fatal accident are still much lower than a 4,000lb chunk of metal hurtling along at 90...70...even 35mph.
The comparison is a spurious one, as operating a car is much the same as operating heavy machinery in many ways.