Drop All Charges Against Raquel Nelson
Drop All Charges Against Raquel Nelson
The Issue
Raquel Nelson and her child were struck by a drunk driver. Her child was killed.
The man who struck them has previously been convicted of two hit-and-runs – on the same day, in 1997, one of them on the same road where he killed Raquel’s son.
From DC.StreetsBlog.com (See: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/07/14/mother-convicted-of-vehicular-homicide-for-crossing-street-with-children/):
The driver, Jerry Guy, was initially charged with “hit and run, first degree homicide by vehicle and cruelty to children,” Elise Hitchcock of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “Charges were later dropped to just the hit and run charge.”
Guy will serve six months for killing the boy, but Nelson will serve up to 36 months – just for crossing the street with her child. Yes, it’s true: they were not in a crosswalk. Are there any crosswalks on that street at all?
Here is some background story of the event, courtesy of AJC (http://www.ajc.com/news/jaywalkers-take-deadly-risks-527488.html):
"On April 10, [Raquel] and her three children — Tyler, 9, A.J., 4, and Lauryn, 3 — went shopping because the next day was Nelson’s birthday. They had pizza, went to Wal-Mart and missed a bus, putting them an hour late getting home. Nelson, a student at Kennesaw State University, said she never expected to be out after dark, especially with the children.
When the Cobb County Transit bus finally stopped directly across from Somerpoint Apartments, night had fallen. She and the children crossed two lanes and waited with other passengers on the raised median for a break in traffic. The nearest crosswalks were three-tenths of a mile in either direction, and Nelson wanted to get her children inside as soon as possible. A.J. carried a plastic bag holding a goldfish they’d purchased.
“One girl ran across the street,” Nelson said. “For some odd reason, I guess he saw the girl and decided to run out behind her. I said, ‘Stop, A.J.,’ and he was in the middle of the street so I said keep going. That’s when we all got hit.”
To charge this mother with anything other than conformity to a county's inability to invest in the safety of its citizens is outrageous. By charging the mother we are punishing her for the actions of a drunk driver - a person with prior hit-and-runs, one on that same road!
I am calling out to Cobb County Superior Court to recognize the wrong-doing of the driver and drop the charges to the mother, who is not responsible for the drunk driver's behavior. Saying that they would not have been struck if they weren't in the street is like charging a parent for the death of a child who was shot in a bad neighborhood. Jaywalking was not the cause of the death - the driver caused the death. What if a person's wheelchair stopped moving in the middle of the street? Would it still be their fault if a driver hit them, Or would we not look to the driver, who was operating the vehicle?
**UPDATE**: Was she even jaywalking to begin with? http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/07/19/raquel-nelson-was-not-jaywalking-when-hit-and-run-driver-killed-her-child/
Background on the driver, Jerry Guy:
Guy was released in October after spending six months in prison.
He confessed to having had 'a little' alcohol in the day, said he was on pain medication and was partially blind in one eye.
Guy had already served time in jail for two previous hit-and-runs, both on February 17, 199 - and one of which was on the same road as the incident last year.
After knocking over one pedestrian he fled the scene, only to hit another car, injuring its driver and passenger.
"Despite the fact that Atlanta-area municipalities continue to build roads, like the one where Nelson’s son was killed, with inadequate pedestrian crossings and sidewalks, and despite the fact that the federal government continues to vastly underfund pedestrian safety infrastructure on federally-funded roads and highways, the courts have pointed the finger at Nelson, blaming her for the death of her son on a road that was designed with no regard for pedestrian safety." (See: DC.StreetsBlog.com, above)
Information about Cobb County Superior Court:
70 Haynes Street
Marietta, GA 30090
770-528-1800
770-528-1808 Fax
Phone numbers/directory: http://sca.cobbcountyga.gov/phones.htm
The Issue
Raquel Nelson and her child were struck by a drunk driver. Her child was killed.
The man who struck them has previously been convicted of two hit-and-runs – on the same day, in 1997, one of them on the same road where he killed Raquel’s son.
From DC.StreetsBlog.com (See: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/07/14/mother-convicted-of-vehicular-homicide-for-crossing-street-with-children/):
The driver, Jerry Guy, was initially charged with “hit and run, first degree homicide by vehicle and cruelty to children,” Elise Hitchcock of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “Charges were later dropped to just the hit and run charge.”
Guy will serve six months for killing the boy, but Nelson will serve up to 36 months – just for crossing the street with her child. Yes, it’s true: they were not in a crosswalk. Are there any crosswalks on that street at all?
Here is some background story of the event, courtesy of AJC (http://www.ajc.com/news/jaywalkers-take-deadly-risks-527488.html):
"On April 10, [Raquel] and her three children — Tyler, 9, A.J., 4, and Lauryn, 3 — went shopping because the next day was Nelson’s birthday. They had pizza, went to Wal-Mart and missed a bus, putting them an hour late getting home. Nelson, a student at Kennesaw State University, said she never expected to be out after dark, especially with the children.
When the Cobb County Transit bus finally stopped directly across from Somerpoint Apartments, night had fallen. She and the children crossed two lanes and waited with other passengers on the raised median for a break in traffic. The nearest crosswalks were three-tenths of a mile in either direction, and Nelson wanted to get her children inside as soon as possible. A.J. carried a plastic bag holding a goldfish they’d purchased.
“One girl ran across the street,” Nelson said. “For some odd reason, I guess he saw the girl and decided to run out behind her. I said, ‘Stop, A.J.,’ and he was in the middle of the street so I said keep going. That’s when we all got hit.”
To charge this mother with anything other than conformity to a county's inability to invest in the safety of its citizens is outrageous. By charging the mother we are punishing her for the actions of a drunk driver - a person with prior hit-and-runs, one on that same road!
I am calling out to Cobb County Superior Court to recognize the wrong-doing of the driver and drop the charges to the mother, who is not responsible for the drunk driver's behavior. Saying that they would not have been struck if they weren't in the street is like charging a parent for the death of a child who was shot in a bad neighborhood. Jaywalking was not the cause of the death - the driver caused the death. What if a person's wheelchair stopped moving in the middle of the street? Would it still be their fault if a driver hit them, Or would we not look to the driver, who was operating the vehicle?
**UPDATE**: Was she even jaywalking to begin with? http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/07/19/raquel-nelson-was-not-jaywalking-when-hit-and-run-driver-killed-her-child/
Background on the driver, Jerry Guy:
Guy was released in October after spending six months in prison.
He confessed to having had 'a little' alcohol in the day, said he was on pain medication and was partially blind in one eye.
Guy had already served time in jail for two previous hit-and-runs, both on February 17, 199 - and one of which was on the same road as the incident last year.
After knocking over one pedestrian he fled the scene, only to hit another car, injuring its driver and passenger.
"Despite the fact that Atlanta-area municipalities continue to build roads, like the one where Nelson’s son was killed, with inadequate pedestrian crossings and sidewalks, and despite the fact that the federal government continues to vastly underfund pedestrian safety infrastructure on federally-funded roads and highways, the courts have pointed the finger at Nelson, blaming her for the death of her son on a road that was designed with no regard for pedestrian safety." (See: DC.StreetsBlog.com, above)
Information about Cobb County Superior Court:
70 Haynes Street
Marietta, GA 30090
770-528-1800
770-528-1808 Fax
Phone numbers/directory: http://sca.cobbcountyga.gov/phones.htm
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Petition created on July 19, 2011