This is unbelievable...
http://jconline.com/article/20081003...NTPAGECAROUSEL

Semi driver won't be charged in fatal crash

By Sophia Voravong • svoravong@journalandcourier.com • October 3, 2008

Criminal charges will not be filed against the driver of a semitrailer who ran over a teenage motorcyclist last week near Tippecanoe Mall, fatally injuring him.
But the truck driver, John F. Stillabower, 47, of Indianapolis will be issued a traffic citation for "unsafe start," Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington said Thursday.
Under Indiana law, a motorist should not start a vehicle that is stopped, standing or parked until movement can be made with reasonable safety.
Bradley Trifone, a Purdue University student from Glen Ellyn, Ill., was dragged more than 300 feet after his motorcycle was struck Sept. 23 by Stillabower's semi at Sagamore Parkway South and Teal Road. It was his 19th birthday.
But authorities have no reason to believe that Stillabower's actions were deliberate, Sgt. Max Smith of the Lafayette Police Department said.
"There was no criminal intent on the behalf of the semi driver," he said, adding that investigators have received results of a blood test performed on Stillabower.
It came back negative for the presence of alcohol or drugs.
Smith said he spoke Thursday with Stillabower and will be mailing the citation, which carries a $130 fine, to Indianapolis.
Trifone and the semi both were heading north on Sagamore Parkway that afternoon and were stopped -- Trifone directly in front of the semi -- at the traffic light at Teal Road. When the light turned green, Stillabower accelerated, driving over the top of the motorcycle and the rider.
Stillabower told investigators he did not see Trifone.
Witnesses had said that the semi was stopped about a foot behind the motorcycle.
Officer Tim Bonner, one of several emergency responders called to the scene that day, said Thursday that it also is believed that Trifone's motorcycle had stalled.
Jay Jackson, executive director of American Bikers Aimed Toward Education of Indiana, or ABATE, said he was not surprised by the prosecutor's decision.
But he urges all drivers to look twice and pay attention on the roads.
"None of us want a person to be persecuted or prosecuted for an accident," said Jackson, who lives in Lafayette. "But this was avoidable, especially given that he is a professional driver. It's not as though the motorcycle darted out -- he was there from the start, stopped at the light.
"I think we all just want some answers."
Lafayette resident Tom Tibbett, who has been riding motorcycles for 26 years, agrees.
He said that Stillabower not seeing Trifone was an unfortunate incident, but that the tragic crash should serve as a reminder for motorists to take extra precautions.
"I do think there needs to be more awareness," Tibbett said, noting that talking on cell phones, sending text messages and other distractions puts motorcyclists and drivers at risk.
"When I am on my bike, I pay more attention to other drivers."
Smith, a longtime traffic sergeant who also serves as coordinator of the countywide Lafayette Metro Fatal Alcohol Crash Team, said motorists need to remember to leave enough space between vehicles.
It's a key factor that could affect how much time motorists have to react should something go wrong.
"The good rule of thumb is three seconds," Smith said. "We have been having a lot of multiple-car, rear-end crashes lately. It all deals with vehicles being too close to one another.
"If I pull up and stop behind someone, I should be able to see their rear tires. If I can't, then I'm too close."

 

This Is Fucked.... I Drive A Big Rig For A Living And When I Took My Class A Drivers Test The Rule For How Far You Should Stay Back From Another Vehicle When At A Light Or Four Way Stop Is Far Enough Back Were You Can See The Rear Tires Of The Car Directly In Front Of You

 

i heard about this on the news and its bullshit! even if it wasnt intentional he is a professional driver and should be punished for his mistakes. if a kid gets pulled over and while the cop is writing a ticket to the kid a semi comes through and wipes him out....the kid is punished for that. this dont make sense. if i were the parents of that kid i would own that company that driver drives for. sad to hear.

 

sorry about the caps ^^^^^

 

He should be charged with vehicular manslaughter

 

so as long as I don't use drugs or alcohol while driving, I can be negligent and kill people with no worries, Ill remember this next time someone cuts me off, I just full gas into their driver side door, and hold the gas pedal down until they're crushed and dead.

And that **** was NO ACCIDENT, he PULLED UP BEHIND a motorcycle stopped at a light, HE KNEW HE WAS THERE. then just decide to plow his *** over when the light turned green. bullshit!

 

yeah just this week I seen where a semi rear ended a car with 2 people in it sitting at a red light.. he killed both of them and got a wreckless opps and a 150 dollar fine.. This **** is crazy.. **** the law man.. law means ****. Its time to ignore the ******* cops and handle **** the old fashion way.

 

that's bullshit. The truckdriver had to stop when he did and stopped right behind a motorcyclist. If he didnt stop he would have stopped ON the motorcyclist. So, that means he knew there was a motorcyclist there when he stopped so why would he proceed to go when he didnt see the motorcyclists pull away. Thats ******* sad. Poor kid, it was his birthday too.

 

This is just going to keep getting worse. I cant tell you how many riders have died on long island this season alone by uninsured/unlicensed drivers making lefts in front of them, and they have never been charged. They enforce rules against us riding in empty lots before someone running over somebody and basically committing murder, its insane.

 

worst part is, if a bike hits somebody we get charged with anything possible

 

theres a few things that you all need to take into acc, one is that the bike could have been sitting at the light stopped before the driver ever pulled up and in which case he may not have ever seen him so when the light went green he wouldnt have known he was there till it was too late , and two people dont see bikes in cars let alone a fully loaded 80,000lb semi..before my riding got so busy driving semi and dump truck is what i did so i know just how hard it is to see something so much smaller than you and how easy they are to miss, acc. happen and **** happens ,do i believe he needs to sit in prison over something that im sure he DIDNT mean to do ..no..but i do believe there needs to be more awareness and i do believe he should be punished....none of us were there so none of us REALLY know what happened...

 

If the bike was already at the light wouldent he have seen him pulling up?and known he was there?

 

^^^ yeah what timmy said. If the bike wasnt there he would have stopped in the bikes spot. Since the bike was there he stopped right behind him. He knew he was there.

 

im thinking theres some missing info in this story

 

He should at the least formally appologize to the kids parents/relatives and have to support any funds like funeral, etc..

 

Vehicular manslaughter is a kind of misdemeanor manslaughter, which holds persons liable for any death which occurs because of criminal negligence, or a violation of traffic safety laws.

 

Brad was at the light stopped and the semi came up after he had been there. They did not stop at the same time, therefore the semi driver would of had to saw him when he came to the light. There were no other bikes with him. It was 1:00 in the afternoon on a very clear, bright day.
I can understand that with the stress/hours etc. that semi drivers endure his sense of surroundings may have been slightly diminished.
My question is this... at what point is someone held accountable for an "accident"?
Involuntary manslaughter can be defined by death resulting from criminal negligence. Criminal negligence can be defined as "recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of injury or death".

 

i dont want everyone to take me wrong im not saying he didnt do wrong...just saying that if he was already at the light and the semi pulled up after then he could have been watching the light moreso or figuring out where he was going since he was not from there ,just passing through or what not, and not so much watching the stop line where the bike was sitting ....remember a bike is bout five feet long and a foot and some change wide ...if the bike was sitting the on the stop line then the driver could have pulled all the way up to where we normally stop without ever seeing the bike at all ....im not agreeing ether way just everyone has to look at things from the other point of view not just the riders ...ive done both so i can kinda understand better than most..not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone though

 

How the **** do you run over someone then proceed to drag them over 300 feet?!?! This whole thing is fucked up!

 

my condolences to whom knew the guy that was killed....

another note....it's not the cops...it's the laws they abide by and find loopholes to the those laws to make them pertain to what they want the end result to be. sounds like somebody just wanted one less bike and rider on the road. sad.