Althouse: "He apparently felt something. The car was not driving in a normal fashion."

February 11, 2009

"He apparently felt something. The car was not driving in a normal fashion."

Dragging a dead body 17 miles — and no criminality involved.

20 comments:

Palladian said...: Is this a metaphor for the "Stimulus Package"? Congress was driving the first van that hit the pedestrian, Obama was driving the van that dragged the pedestrian, and we're all the pedestrian.; 2/11/09, 1:01 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Yikes! He even stopped to check and didn't see it. Will probably give him nightmares now.; 2/11/09, 1:03 PM
traditionalguy said...: Now I know why dogs chase trucks, they might get lucky. If his parts came off along the way, the "apparently male" description makes sense. I blame Bush/Cheney since this was a combination of rendition+torture. Maybe it was only Bernie Madoff servicing one of his customers; 2/11/09, 1:04 PM
KCFleming said...: Those human-shaped potholes are the worst.; 2/11/09, 1:05 PM
Joe said...: Until I got it repaired a few weeks ago, dragging around a body would probably have improved the performance of my car.; 2/11/09, 1:22 PM
Wince said...: Okay, time for some sick humor?; 2/11/09, 1:24 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Speaking of dead bodies, the tagline from the current blogad on Ann's sidebar: "Everything goes better with a dead lawyer."

Do they know product placement, or what?; 2/11/09, 1:44 PM
Johanna Lapp said...: At least in NY, we eventually take the bodies under the bus and send them to the morgue. In DC, they get cabinet appointments.; 2/11/09, 2:08 PM
Ron said...: [Andy Rooney voice]Dontcha just hate it when a cadaver messes with your rack-and-pinion? Plus, it must be hell on the mileage...[/Andy Rooney voice]; 2/11/09, 2:19 PM
SteveR said...: He (apparently) now qualifies to be guest host on Larry King Live.; 2/11/09, 2:19 PM
hdhouse said...: zippywow...and where is the space on the driver's license for IQ; 2/11/09, 2:35 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: No criminal activity...

Involuntary vehicular manslaughter anyone? Is that not in "the books" in NY? Fleeing the scene of an accident (the first vehicle) not in the books either?

I was telling a friend today, that reporters of any kind should be fined any time they use phrases and/or terms out of context. Like this video where the reporter says that the girl found herself in an unimaginable situation...Is it really hard to imagine that something like that could happen when you are wearing a scarf in a car wash tunnel?? Be serious now...

PS. Palladian, caro mio, I love the post.; 2/11/09, 3:26 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: “His color looked off — he looked pale and cold,” Mr. Steinberg said somberly.

After 17 miles under a car, what did you expect? Rosie cheeks and a warm smile??

I take back the first charge. The first vehicle did not flee the scene.; 2/11/09, 3:35 PM
ricpic said...: I suppose this could happen anywhere...but I don't really suppose it. As Cindy Adams would say, "Only in New York, folks, only in New York."; 2/11/09, 4:16 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Hmm it was 6AM and he drove a cargo van 17 miles back to his home with no stops in between.

What was he doing at that time of the day in NYC traffic? Just taking a joy ride? Or perhaps just getting back from a late late night of drinking? I see a DWI here.; 2/11/09, 4:21 PM
Anonymous said...: As horrific as this is, the scenario described is plausible and it may actually be the case that no one is criminally liable.

First, the story says that the pedestrian was struck by one vehicle and that others were swerving in front of the van driver before he hit the pedestrian. Now, I've not been to NYC, but I lived in the D.C. area for several years, and even at 6 in the morning in Virginia traffic could be quite heavy. I've been in situations where there is an object in the road where all of a sudden traffic ahead of you starts veering to avoid the object. Usually, the traffic is so dense that you may only realize something is in the way moments before you reach the obstacle. In such situations, especially at six in the morning, it is not at all improbable that you may not even be able to identify the object.

As to why no one stopped, in heavy traffic it's hard to stop without causing worse problems. Your best bet is to try to avoid the obstacle if possible and then pull off the road later when you have the opportunity. If the road has a curb and you're traveling at a decent speed, you simply cannot get off until the next drive, crossroad or exit.

As for why the driver did not realize he was dragging a body, it's quite likely that when he finally did have an opportunity to stop and inspect his vehicle, he got out and looking at the wrong side of the vehicle, did not notice anything obviously wrong and assumed he had bent a suspension or steering member and didn't bother fully inspecting his vehicle until later when he could get home and it would be brighter out so he could see better.

And I wouldn't necessarily blame the initial collision on the suv driver either. I've had close calls with bicyclists at night who don't bother to use proper reflective equipment and lighting and ignore the rules of the road. In many cities, business signage and bad street lights actually cause more light to be directed toward a driver's eyes than the road surface, causing their eyes to underexpose the scene and making objects on the road surface harder to detect. So even if pedestrian thought he was being reasonably safe, a driver may not even realize he's there until the last second. I once came within two feet of a bicyclist traveling the wrong way down a curbed street at night without lights or reflectors because he was between street lights and the large number of business signs shining parallel to the road limited my vision. I was less than thirty feet from him before I noticed him. If it had been a busy time, he would have likely been killed. Drivers can be careless, but pedestrians and bicyclists can be idiots.; 2/11/09, 5:17 PM
RR Ryan said...: You might be amazed at how easy it is to miss something like that, especially on a big car. We have a Lincoln Town Car and when something seems wrong(not often, thank you Ford!) it's just easier to check the car when it's back in the garage. A loose connection of some sort generally seems more likely than a body stuck to the undercarriage.; 2/11/09, 6:05 PM
Cedarford said...: ElcubanitoKC said...
No criminal activity...

Involuntary vehicular manslaughter anyone? Is that not in "the books" in NY? Fleeing the scene of an accident (the first vehicle) not in the books either?

You are opining without even bothering to read the article.

If you had, you would see why it wasn't a criminal matter for the van driver that dragged the body or likely the person that hit him.
In most cases, at night, the blame usually goes to the pedestrian.

A guy who was a store clerk who I knew was killed after he left the store, slipped on ice and fell into the roadway. 3 cars ran him over. The 1st, a young lady, went about a quart mile down the road before reaching a lighted area she felt safe to stop at and phoned in that she thought she hit a big dark dog or a deer.

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Good post by Kylos.
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Of course, there was the luck of my co-worker's wife..3 years ago she thought she hit a dog. Getting home she mentioned it to husband and young kids after going into the garage. Mentioned she had gotten out and looked - but no dog in the road or hurt in the nearby road border.
Their own dog, a collie mix, was acting funny. Their young boy went to take it out and came right back in saying it looked like a golden retriever was stuck in her grille and looking "pretty dead and discombobulated". Co-worker and wife went out and moved the car into the driveway and pulled out pieces and parts and hosed the car down. Husband went in with a collar tag to call the owner. Wife put car back in the garage and closed the automatic door. A half hour later, their kid came back in and said Basil the dog had his head stuck underneath the door and was ....real...quiet.
Wife went out and found the dog was in the exact wrong place when the door closed, and was also dead.

After mourning their dog, she had to go in and do half an evening shift as a cardiology nurse at the hospital. First patient she visited cheerfully greeted her "hello", said he was feeling much better, and dropped dead just as she said "that's good!".

Just wasn't her day. Real black cloud luck.; 2/11/09, 6:11 PM
Eric said...: The pedestrian, apparently a male, was killed.

No shit?; 2/11/09, 7:38 PM
traditionalguy said...: Was the dead body someone known to be a threat to the any politician or Mafia official? It never hurts to ask in NYC, kind a like the husband is always a suspect in his wife's strange but innocent looking death. The God Father may have returned. Were they all from Sicilian descent?; 2/11/09, 8:06 PM