Driver in fatal Conn. crash sues victim's parents

[Swede]

How low can you get?


A driver who's serving a manslaughter sentence for striking and killing a 14-year-old boy is suing the victim's parents, blaming them for their son's death because they allowed him to ride his bike in the street without a helmet.

Matthew Kenney's parents, Stephen and Joanne, sued 48-year-old driver David Weaving shortly after he was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison, accusing him in Waterbury Superior Court of negligence and seeking more than $15,000 in damages.

Weaving, who has a history of drunken driving convictions, responded months later with a handwritten countersuit accusing the Kenneys of "contributory negligence." He's also seeking more than $15,000 in damages, saying he's endured "great mental and emotional pain and suffering," wrongful conviction and imprisonment, and the loss of his "capacity to carry on in life's activities."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLk4dFEMQUjI2-XKYd4IzMQ3lV1A?docId=f256dd857e7d460fb3437a211b93e305

[Edweird]

1. A shit house lawyer with too much time on his hands.

[Initech]

5. Gives new meaning to the term "criminal attorney", doesnt it?

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Weaving. That's an appropriate name for a drunk.

He was destined to become a screw up.

[virgogal]

3. As if a 14 year old boy would NEVER go without a helmet even if

his parents wanted him to wear one.

[tinymontgomery]

4. Is there a law

that says you have to have a helmet on? I road all my young days during the 60's without a helmet. Still doesn't excuse him.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

7. might be.

some states have helmet laws- especially for youth.

Not that the parents really know what a 14 year old is doing at all times... :eyes:

[tinymontgomery]

9. my parents couldn't tell

me crap when I was 14. We taken all the fun out of being young. I would hate to be a young teen today. Back when I was young living in rural area we get plastid and then ride mc 75 in the peach orchid after having a few of things that now get you thrown into jail for years, What a blast and no one really gave us a hard time. Get caught with a six pack and they dumped it out in front of of you and told you to go home. I know times have changed and we were not the brightest of kids but they didn't ruin our lives for a few mistakes that at time did not hurt anyone ( luckily).

[atreides1]

15. Yes there is but, read the last paragraph

(b) No child fifteen years of age or under shall operate a bicycle on the traveled portion
of any highway unless such child is wearing protective headgear which conforms to the
minimum specifications established by the American National Standards Institute or the
Snell Memorial Foundation's Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling.
Failure to comply with this section shall not be a violation or an offense.

Failure to wear
protective headgear as required by this subsection shall not be considered to be
contributory negligence on the part of the parent or the child nor shall such failure be
admissible in any civil action.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. That's pretty typical of state laws.

Same goes for seat-belts. You can't smash head on in to someone and blame injuries on the victim for not wearing a seat-belt.

[Guilded Lilly]

6. scumbag

[Politicalboi]

8. and the loss of his "capacity to carry on in life's activities."

Yeah like drinking. What a POS.

[de novo]

10. He doesn't know what he's doing. He is representing himself and

this won't go very far.

[JVS]

11. Sounds fair. If it weren't for the lack of helmet, it might not have been manslaughter.

[Swede]

13. Hitting a kid at 83 mph is pretty much a death sentence.

:shrug:

[wtmusic]

14. A bike helmet is only effective at protecting the head

from impacts up to 15mph. Wouldn't have made any difference.

[dsc]

12. I don't know the law in CT

but we do have a really dumb law here in NC in regards to comparative negligence. One of my coworkers kids was hit in a bike accident by a speeding driver but she was unable to recover from him since her kid had something wrong with his bike (I think it was a reflector issue). Now, even here, his suit for his imprisionment would be laughed out of court but likely they couldn't sue for any damages since the kid didn't wear a helmet.