Stallworth update

[jackrussell]

Police: Man hit by Stallworth wasn't in crosswalk

MIAMI -- A Miami Beach police report shows a pedestrian wasn't in a crosswalk when Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth hit and killed him with his Bentley.


An accident report released Tuesday also says Stallworth told officers he flashed his lights to try to warn 59-year-old Mario Reyes, who was rushing to catch a bus after getting off work just after 7 a.m.

Police say Stallworth was going about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.
Police are investigating whether alcohol played a role in the March 14 accident that killed Reyes. No charges have been filed against Stallworth pending the outcome of blood tests.

A police diagram shows that Reyes was struck in the far left lane of a six-lane road -- not in a nearby crosswalk. Stallworth stopped a few feet away.

By CURT ANDERSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer

© 2009 The Associated Press

LINK


Flashing your lights?

 

[Ren]

Police: Man hit by Stallworth wasn't in crosswalk

MIAMI -- A Miami Beach police report shows a pedestrian wasn't in a crosswalk when Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth hit and killed him with his Bentley.


An accident report released Tuesday also says Stallworth told officers he flashed his lights to try to warn 59-year-old Mario Reyes, who was rushing to catch a bus after getting off work just after 7 a.m.

Police say Stallworth was going about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.
Police are investigating whether alcohol played a role in the March 14 accident that killed Reyes. No charges have been filed against Stallworth pending the outcome of blood tests.

A police diagram shows that Reyes was struck in the far left lane of a six-lane road -- not in a nearby crosswalk. Stallworth stopped a few feet away.

By CURT ANDERSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer

© 2009 The Associated Press

LINK


Flashing your lights?

Maybe Bentleys don't have break

 

[Beast_from_East]

Doesnt matter if the guy was in a crosswalk or not, if the rumors are true that Stallworth had a .12 bal, then he is screwed.

In Texas, that is automatic Intoxicated Manslaughter and carries 2-20 yr sentence on first offense. Doesnt matter if the guy you hit was totally wasted and was standing on the yellow stripe buck naked.

 

[Cowboys22]

So he was speeding and saw the pedestrian but still ran him down anyway? Plus, he may have been over the legal limit. If he walks away from this and still plays football I will lose what little respect I have left for our justice system. Same thing for Burress!

 

[Beast_from_East]

So he was speeding and saw the pedestrian but still ran him down anyway? Plus, he may have been over the legal limit. If he walks away from this and still plays football I will lose what little respect I have left for our justice system. Same thing for Burress!

How the hell did Stallworth have time to flash his lights at the guy, but couldnt hit the brakes or swurve to miss the guy???

Im with you on this, if Stallworth walks something is seriously wrong with our judicial system.

 

[Longboysfan]

There could have been other cars near him and swerving into them was not an option at that time.

Could have been.

Unless they have cameras on the area or more witnesses then he is toast.

But innocent until proven broke.

 

[DallasEast]

Video link of story--> http://www.wkyc.com/video/default.aspx?aid=81510

http://i356.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo4/DallasEast1701/DSaccident.jpg​

 

[Rustinpeace21]

hmmmmmmmmm looks like the middle of a highway...wonder way the guy was in the road anyway

 

[TellerMorrow34]

It's very disturbing to me that he had enough time to flash his lights but didn't bother to slow down. It's just common sense to slow down. Even if he wasn't under the influence and he only flashed his lights it's an extremely disturbing thing to me.

 

[NeonNinja]

I agree, how come he can notice the guy and flash his lights at him but not hit the breaks.

 

[tyke1doe]

How do we know he didn't try to slow down?

He's on a busy highway. You don't suddenly hit your brakes on a highway, especially if cars are riding behind you.

Again, I don't know whether he did or didn't, but we don't have enough information to make such a judgment.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Looking at the seen, it was probably the pedestrian's fault, but if Stallworth was caught under the influence, it won't mean a whole lot to his case.

 

[NeonNinja]

Exactly, if he was over the limit it won't matter who was at fault.

 

[Texan_Eph89]

Stallworth was driving drunk so he isn't blaimless.
However, the pedestrian was in the middle of a highway. Stallworth can't just hit the breaks, we don't know if there are cars immediately behind him.

Stallworth should not walk away for drunk driving, but I'm not entirely sure if the "manslaughter" was his fault.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Don't give me that he can't his his breaks. He can still hit them and there is less a chance of him being killed if someone rear ends him then there is of him hitting a person at 50 MPH.

It's not like we're even talking about that he has to slam on his breaks here. Even just pushing on them, and slowing down, is probably enough to allow the person to get out of his way.

In the time he spent flashing his lights he could have been pushing the breaks and gently slowing down, not necassarily just slamming on his breaks. That, in my mind, would have been far better on his part then simply saying, "Well I saw him and I flashed my lights to let him know I was there."

 

[TNCowboy]

Wasn't this what kept Leonard Little from a long prison sentence? The woman he ran into had actually ran a red light?

 

[YosemiteSam]

Stallworth was driving drunk so he isn't blaimless.
However, the pedestrian was in the middle of a highway. Stallworth can't just hit the breaks, we don't know if there are cars immediately behind him.

Stallworth should not walk away for drunk driving, but I'm not entirely sure if the "manslaughter" was his fault.

Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant may have an intent to cause death or serious injury, but the potential liability for the person is mitigated by the circumstances and/or state of mind.​

Involuntary Manslaughter

Involuntary manslaughter generally occurs in only two cases. The first is when someone is killed due to criminal negligence. That is, they are killed accidentally when someone else behaves negligently. If a person who is committing the crime of reckless driving or driving under the influence of alcohol kills someone in an accident, this would be criminal negligence.​

It's manslaughter alright, but it's the second classification of manslaughter. (Involuntary manslaughter)

 

[ethiostar]

we seem to be getting new information on this tragedy on a regular basis. I'll just wait until all the facts are in before i chime in.

 

[AbeBeta]

Whether folks like it or not, stuff is breaking Stallworth's way on this case and a decent lawyer is going to exploit this. I expect that they will argue that the victim's actions placed him at considerable risk - that is, both the victim and Stallworth share some of the blame. I think from the pictures above you could argue that Stallworth had no reason to expect a person to cross in the middle of the road since there is clearly nowhere to cross there.

Given these developments I expect that there is going to be some kind of deal struck - Stallworth will be penalized but not to the maximum extent

 

[AbeBeta]

Wasn't this what kept Leonard Little from a long prison sentence? The woman he ran into had actually ran a red light?

Yes, sure is. Folks here citing the letter of the law really don't understand how the charge and the sentence are independent. He may get a involuntary manslaughter charge but the sentence will probably be light.

I'd hope to be wrong but I doubt I am.