"Who's the real victim: the teen cyclist who was struck and killed in a crash or the motorist who accidentally took his life? That's a question the courts will now have to answer.
"In the early hours of Oct. 28, 2012, Brandon Majewski, 17, and his 16-year-old friends Richard McLean and Jake Roberts were riding their bikes home after grabbing a bite to eat. Riding abreast on a two-lane rural road in Innisfil, Ontario, the trio were struck from behind by a black Kia Sorrento driven by Sharlene Simon, News.com.au reported.
"Majewski was pronounced dead two hours later at a local hospital. McLean spent weeks in the hospital recovering from broken bones, including a broken pelvis. Roberts was not seriously hurt.
"Simon, 42, who was driving about 55 mph in a 50 mph zone, was not charged with fault in the accident. Police said intoxication was not suspected as a contributing factor either.
"According to the National Post, investigators concluded that the 'lack of visibility' of the cyclists 'was the largest contributing factor,' and that on a dark overcast night, Simon 'did not see the cyclists on the roadway and was unable to make an evasive reaction.'
"A terrible event for all involved, no doubt.
"Then last December, Simon filed a $1.35-million lawsuit against Majewski's estate, and against the other two bicyclists, for 'great pain and suffering.' Simon claims she has suffered from depression, anxiety, irritability and post-traumatic stress, and that the 'enjoyment of life has been irretrievably lessened' since the accident."
These are indeed sad times when one can successfully begin to sue not only a dead person, but also his family, his friends, and his friends' family because of so-called "emotional trauma". In a breakdown of events, Charlene Simon, a 42 year-old Canadian woman, mother of three, was driving along a country road when she not only came up behind, but also struck and killed a 17 year old biker, severely injured his 16 year old friend alongside him, and inflicted minor injuries on their third fellow abreast of them. It has not even been a year, but this woman has now gained the audacity to claim she suffers from nightmares and in order to enjoy her life, she requires that her victim's families pay 1.3 million dollars to her.
I do write from a biased standpoint, I feel as though she most certainly had been driving too fast, because even my mother with poor eyesight has been able to see bikers in similar if not worse conditions in spite of whatever reflective gear they have on because she uses her headlights. I have not yet researched deep enough into the events themselves to determine the strength of the woman-in-question's eyesight, but it seems as though she either should not be driving, or has failed to maintain common sense while driving by either being drunk, driving recklessly, or through texting while driving.
Above it all however, I submit to you, NSG, this case and want to see your opinions on it, I suspect many will be similar to mine, but what do you think should happen to Simon if it is proven she was indeed intoxicated, texting, or recklessly driving at the time she struck Majewski?
Sources:
Huffington Post
The Toronto Star
The Independent
The Sun
