Mother forced to pay for cleanup of wreck after son was killed by a drunk driver

[proud2BlibKansan]

Loretta Robinson of South Carolina is grieving -- she lost her oldest son, Justin, when he was killed by a drunk driver.

Now, she is forced to pay for different charges associated with the accident, even though her son was not at fault. 

The South Carolina State Office of Victims Assistance paid her funeral and medical bills, but she has still had to pay to have the vehicle towed and removed, to have the car stored in case there was a trial, and to have her son's blood cleaned up off the street. 

She hasn't been able to work because of emotional problems she has suffered as a consequence of the accident, making it hard for her to pay the bills.

Please tell the city of Greenville, South Carolina, to reimburse Loretta Robinson! 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/109/679/618/dont-charge-mother-for-cleanup-after-son-killed/

[NYC_SKP]

1. Done. Signed. They're very close to their 17,000 signature target, fewer than 200 to go!

Come on DU!

[Zalatix]

11. They're now 1 signature closer.

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 04:42 AM - Edit history (1)

Edit: no, wait, as of tonight, make that 4.

[Archae]

2. WHY??!!??

The drunk driver should be paying!

I want to know why this woman is getting that bill!

[djean111]

34. She is getting this bill from the towing company

because she owned the car her son was driving and she did not have insurance on the car.
The drunk driver did not have insurance, either, and is an illegal immigrant and is in jail for 17 years or something like that.
The towing company actually is not charging what it could charge.
Facts are always good when emotions are running unchecked.

[demwing]

38. A little empathy never hurt

did it?

[Bellerophon]

42. empathy is good

But towing companies cannot pay their employees with empathy... and such tragedies are what they are in business clean up after

[demwing]

51. what makes you think I was referring to the towing company? /nt

[LanternWaste]

43. And quite often, emotions are the only counter to fact-based on idiocy.

"Facts are always good when emotions are running unchecked..."

And quite often, emotions are the only counter to a fact-based idiocy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

54. It's still wrong

This is why we pay taxes. The city should take care of it and then sort out the responsibilities later. Sending a bill to a grieving family member for a wreck not caused by her loved one is insanely cruel.

How about billing the employer of the undocumented worker who drove drunk and caused the accident?

[PavePusher]

58. No, that is why we're supposed to have insurance for our vehicles.

Hey, don't you support mandatory insurance for gun owners, and that they pay for any damage they cause?

[BlueJazz]

3. "She has to pay to have her son's blood cleaned up off the street."

What!!
I'd like to drive up there and just beat the shit out of everyone involved with this atrocity.

This country sometimes sucks!

[RKP5637]

6. This is outrageous. This used to be a public function, accident cleanup. Paying to

have your son's blood cleaned off the street is gruesome, absolutely gruesome. God, what has this country turned into.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Tea Party Paradise

[freshwest]

13. +1. Punish the innocent, reward the guilty. That'll show 'em!

[kag]

14. And I would like to help you, BlueJazz

...and then have them clean up their own stupid blood off the floor.

[backtoblue]

50. this is some total bullshit

We have public services for a reason. This is a tragedy and surely the city and/or county officials could come up with enough money to have had the wreck cleaned up.

Total, total bullshit and I feel for this lady.

[RKP5637]

4. Done / signed. n/t

[magical thyme]

5. done. less than 8 to go! nt

[4lbs]

7. This is bullshit (that the mother had to pay)

The drunk driver should be the one that has to pay, in more ways than one!

[onestepforward]

9. Signed.

[annm4peace]

10. I received this petition via email

Im so glad to see it on DU. I hope others sign and share. It is sickening but glad we have online petition so when the news doesn't expose it the internet will.

[Smilo]

12. k/r

Signed.

[SunSeeker]

15. K&R

It's at over 17,700 signatures now...

[LadyHawkAZ]

16. Signed n/t

[rocktivity]

19. She should file for reimbursement through either the driver's insurance company

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)

or small claims court.


rocktivity

[NYC_SKP]

22. I think you are right but also support a grassroots campaign to appeal to the city.

I don't think it should by default fall to the city/county, but do support the idea of collectively covering for her loss and costs.

Had this been a rally for money, I'd have contributed $10.

But it's not, so I signed the petition, hope you did too!

[former9thward]

48. Driver had no insurance.

Small claims means nothing when the guy you are suing is in jail and has no assets.

[proud2BlibKansan]

55. His employer has assets.

Without the promise of employment, he wouldn't be here illegally. Let whoever hired him pay for this.

[former9thward]

62. Nice legal theory. Now find a court in the U.S. that would buy it.

Hint: You will be searching for a long time.

[tblue37]

20. Done. & knr

[Ship of Fools]

21. Done.

[Sirveri]

23. I don't think it's legal to charge her for this.

I could see charging her for storage if she owns the car, but if she doesn't own the car why exactly would she be responsible for any storage fees? I've also never heard of charging someone who wasn't there or involved to clean something up. And like all things on the internet, how do I know that this isn't just a scam? It just sounds too outrageous to be true.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Life in tea party America

[ladjf]

31. I know that she was too distraught to fight back. But, had she refused to pay, I don't think

that she could have been forced to pay. nt

[tsuki]

40. Probably not. Husband fell at the shop once

and hurt his hip. The EMTs were called, and the firetruck showed up. The EMTs were taxpayer funded, as was the fire department. The fire department sent an invoice for $200.00. I call them and told them that no one called them, and $200 to get in a truck and cross the street (they were that close) was idiotic. No pay, no way. Never heard from them again, but I did ask my county commish how many people the fire department was scamming for extra cash.

[ladjf]

45. I had an accident at home, broke my collar bone. Wife called 911. EMTs came to my house, checked

me out and left. I never received a bill. They apparently had a fund for those types of situations.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Here where I live they'll treat you at no charge

But charge if they transport you.

[ladjf]

59. They would have charge me had they transported me to the hospital. They recommended that

I go with them. I declined and went to the hospital in our auto.

[madinmaryland]

25. And this is the America that the Teabaggers want especially since the mother is an African American.

[skypilot]

27. Just as I was about to...

...click on the link it occurred to me that the mother was a black woman. And of course that turned out to be correct.

[Blue_Tires]

49. +1

[Arkansas Granny]

26. Done.

[djean111]

28. It sems that the reason she got the bill

is that ordinarily the car insurance would have paid it - but the car was hers and she did not have insurance on it.
The city was not involved, it is the towing company that billed her, they billed because neither car (the drunk driver was an illegal immigrant) had insurance.
It would be nice if the city reimbursed her, but they did not bill her, the towing company did. Independently. $50 for cleanup, and then an amount for 10 days storage.
[link:http://www.wyff4.com/news/local-news/greenville-news/Tow-truck-driver-defends-cleanup-bill-to-accident-victim-s-mother/-/9654794/15280304/-/item/0/-/12isyw/-/index.html|
The cleanup was for the wreckage of the two cars, not just "blood off the street" - which, here in Florida, is usually hosed off by the fire department.
Yes, a terrible tragedy, and yes, the tea party is making government smaller and yet nastier, but in this case, not the city.

[Bellerophon]

32. maybe people.should

Take up a collection for her. The charges by the tow company ssound reasonable... people cannot expect them to work for free...


This is just another one of those threads that isn't based on facts.... probably with the intent of stirring people up....

[djean111]

33. Yep.

All charged up.
The woman did not insure her car.
The drunk driver is an illegal immigrant, and is now in jail for 17 years, and also - no car insurance.
Interesting parallel to health insurance, though - both uninsured, the taxpayers will pick up the tab, this is why insurance is mandatory.

[Bellerophon]

35. and

People will refuse to make that connection.... and blame it if someone else instead if the person who made the choice to not insure their car.....

[datasuspect]

36. i guess the situation would have been less terrible if the drunk driver

wasn't an illegal immigrant?

you sure seem to be harping on that one point.

what do you have against people with Spanish surnames?

[Bellerophon]

41. the poster wasnt harping

Just stating the facts.... just the facts.

Just because the facts may make people feel uncomfortable doesn't make them less true....

[djean111]

60. I am only mentioning the other driver's status

in order to try and show how hopeless it might be to try and collect any money from her.
And I did not notice her name.
I don't think being black had anything to do with this, either.

[4th law of robotics]

29. Did the drunk driver not have any family members?

[ladjf]

30. Large segments of our population are showing a callous behavior uncommon to mammals.

The are sick and need psychiatric help. nt

[PavePusher]

37. How does that apply here?

it seems neither driver/car was insured, hence the problems.

Insurance is a legal requirement for driving on public roads. I fail to see where being billed for resulting costs is a matter of"callous behavior".

Nor is "callous behavior" at all uncommon amongst any phylum of the animal kingdom.

[ladjf]

44. Regardless of who did or didn't have insurance. It was callous of the public services to force

the grieving mother to pay for the accident cleanup. Under those circumstances, the city and/or County should have a fund for those kinds of situations.

Yes, I know that mammals can be vicious to one another, especially in competitive situations.
But, for the most part, animals have good reasons for violent behavior. They generally protect their own. That one of the main reasons they are able to survive.

[PavePusher]

47. Where do you think this "fund" will come from? n/t

[ladjf]

52. I understand your position. It's every person for themselves. The Government shouldn't have

to fund anything for the public. That is the glaring banner of the Republican Party. Before the Republicans took over, there were many public initiatives to help people in need such as the mother of the dead son. And the funny thing was that during those times, tax rates were much higher and the economy was booming. Public schools are successful. Employment was high. And, the wealth gap between the rich and middle class was much narrower.

[PavePusher]

57. Well, you've just extrapolated from zero to infinity in 2.7 seconds. Well done!

Why should I pay for something she (and the other driver) was supposed to, by law, have insurance for?

I am very sorry for her loss, but she was breaking the law and needs to sort out the mess herself.

[Bellerophon]

63. her dead son was taken care of by the government.

The bill she has to pay is for her car's. Clean up and towing/storage.
Had she followed the law and had insurance she wouldn't be in this situation......


Funny how everybody understands this with the healthcare law but fails to see the same thing with required auto insurance.

[oldhippie]

53. "... should have a fund for those kinds of situations. "

There is a fund for such situations. It's called insurance. Everyone who drives a car on public roads is supposed to have it (or evidence of fiscal responsibility.) Both people involved seemed to have ignored this social and legal responsibility. I don't have much sympathy for either.

[Uncle Joe]

39. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, proud2BlibKansan.

[Liberal_in_LA]

46. omg

[GreenPartyVoter]

61. Done!

[adelitaashmi]

64. Spam deleted by gkhouston (MIR Team)