Teen stripped of license forever after crash.

[ohiosmith]

Chief Magistrate William Guglietta has stripped a 17-year-old of his license forever after a serious crash in Charlestown last fall that injured him and three other passengers.

In a severe ruling the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal Judge ruled the teen, Lyle Topa of Charlestown, will never again be allowed to get a license in the state of Rhode Island.

Topa pled guilty to charges of driving 20 mph over the 35 mph speed limit and not wearing a seatbelt. Guglietta dropped several charges as part of the plea agreement, including driving with too many passengers, being out past the driver's curfew, leaving the lane of travel, and failure to maintain control of the vehicle.

The teen was allegedly leaving a party at the Richmond home of former school committee member Terri Serra around 2 a.m. when he crashed the vehicle into a tree. Three of his high school friends were in the vehicle.



Link: http://630wpro.com/Article.asp?id=2405321&spid=37719

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. but they all lived thru that?

[ohiosmith]

2. Additional information:

Link: http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/feb/29/driver-charlestown-crash-loses-license-forever-ar-949011/

[Kurmudgeon]

10. That WAS a Ford Mustang, however trees don't have a lot of give in them.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/south_county/charlestown-crash-victims-identified

Amazing there was no life lost considering the destruction of the vehicle.
I'll also mention, with 4 people in the car, it's going to handle vastly different than normal.

[HopeHoops]

3. I can't even tell what kind of car that used to be!

There's always NY, NJ, and PA to get a license in - none too far. Rhode Island is NOT a big place.

[Skittles]

5. seriously stupid stuff but

FOREVER? come on

[11 Bravo]

7. Really! 55 in a 35 zone? Hell, I'm pretty sure I did that this morning.

A permanent revocation seems ridiculous.

[Skittles]

12. teenagers do stupid things

I always say, if you cannot remember doing anything stupid and dangerous in your youth, you're either lying or did not have very much fun

[alp227]

14. And if he joyrides AGAIN and KILLS someone...?

[saras]

6. Bizarre overkill. Minor charges and bad luck.

Why is four people in the car too many? Did it not have a back seat? Or do they have a law where young drivers can't carry passengers?

20mph over a 35 is a fine, but usually not THAT big a deal.

They seem to be desperate to throw the book at everybody - "leaving the lane of travel" and "failure to maintain control of the vehicle" as CRIMINAL CHARGES???

And:

The teen was allegedly leaving a party at the Richmond home of former school committee member Terri Serra around 2 a.m. when he crashed the vehicle into a tree. Three of his high school friends were in the vehicle.

Serra resigned from the school committee after it was alleged she was home during the party and that she drove by the accident without stopping. She has been accused of violating Rhode Island’s social host law. She is also being charged with failure to render aid.

I also notice that alcohol does NOT seem to be involved.

[Bladian]

8. Well, I just got my license a few years ago, sooo...

I know that for the first year, if you're under 18, you aren't allowed to drive anyone under...I think 25, without someone over that age in the car. So it was probably a situation like that. Not necessarily, because he could've had it for over a year. But that's all I can think of.

[yawnmaster]

9. Alcohol apparently is involved...

"...Police said the teenagers were drinking alcohol at the property of a Chariho school committeewoman prior to the Oct. 23 crash."

[csziggy]

11. Uh - the paragraph just before the two you quoted

Police said the teenagers were drinking alcohol at the property of a Chariho school committeewoman prior to the Oct. 23 crash.

I don't know Rhode Island's laws but maybe they have a limit on the number of passengers a driver under a certain age can have in the vehicle? That wold fit with the "being out past the designated curfew' charge that was also dropped.

[ErikJ]

13. Teens should be required to buy this picture book of car crashes

"Car Crashes and other Sad Stories"-full of real car crash victims from the 40's and 50's.