Faulty Inspection Leads to Manslaugher Charge for Vermont Mechanic

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Faulty Inspection Leads to Manslaugher Charge for Vermont Mechanic

Andrew P. Collins
8/18/15 9:31 a.m.

Steven Jalbert’s a mechanic at A.J.’s Sunoco in Barre, Vermont. Last year he put an inspection sticker on Donald Ibey’s 1992 Chevy Corsica. Two months later the car was involved in a crash that killed Ibey’s wife Elizabeth. As a result Jalbert’s been brought up on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment and could face up to 16 years in prison.

It’s a messy story of the law versus common sense versus the pros and cons of lackadaisical code enforcement and I’m not sure how to feel about it.

As The Burlington Free Press reports:

{snip}

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I don't agree with Mr Collins. This is not

a messy story of the law versus common sense versus the pros and cons of lackadaisical code enforcement

This is the story of criminal negligence, and a man who not only didn't do his job, and indeed didn't know what his job entailed, but essentially falsified the paperwork to proclaim the vehicle safe when it was manifestly not safe, something he would have known if he'd bothered to do what he'd been paid to.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. Usually if a mechanic haphazardly passes a car....

....it's because he's been slipped a few extra bucks by the owner, so I'm not seeing the angle here.