Last year, 15 cyclists were out for a ride together when an allegedly distracted driver plowed into the group. Multiple people suffered injuries and two people died. One was a 62-year-old man and the other was a 53-year-old woman.
The 34-year-old woman who killed them recently got her sentence. She will lose her license for half of a year, attend traffic school, do 120 hours of community service and pay a fine of $1,000.
Survivors are angry, saying the penalty is too light for someone who took a pair of lives. The court said that it wasn’t a criminal act but just careless driving, allowing the woman to enter a no-contest plea on that charge and get the aforementioned sentence.
Per reports out of Florida, the woman was speeding by more than 10 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone. She looked away from the road — she claims it was just for a second — and then hit the cyclists.
Experts studied the scene and said she should have had about 10 seconds of warning, as the bikes were in sight. Perhaps indicating how long she looked down, she did not hit the brakes until 1.1 to 2.5 seconds prior to impact.
One important thing to remember is that this sentence just relates to the potential criminal charges against the woman who hit the cyclists. Regardless of the outcome of a criminal trial, those who suffer serious injuries or lose loved ones in these types of accidents may still have the right to seek financial compensation for funeral costs, medical bills, lost earnings and the like.
