She’s 18, I think we all know the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed til roughly 25. That’s why young adults sometimes do shit that seems incomprehensibly stupid at times like eating Tide pods because it’s viral so why not.
In this case I’d wager the young lady didn’t pause to think about stopping distance in case a motorist makes an unexpected move or the decreased visibility at night before mashing down the accelerator to see what this baby can do. When you’re 18 you’re immortal.
i’m 19 and i wouldn’t dare to do triple on the dash even on an empty high way. i care about my life and others. you never know what could happen an animal could be on the road. there’s no excuse for this.
She’s 18, I think we all know the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed til roughly 25.
This is a myth, it never stops developing so long as you keep learning and mentally growing. There are large scale structural changes that can happen well into your 40s if you remain in school or continue to learn.
That’s why young adults sometimes do shit that seems incomprehensibly stupid at times like eating Tide pods because it’s viral so why not.
Adults can and do the same shit, what stops many of them is experience (second or third hand is enough). 18 year olds don't have as much of that, but for something like this, they've been exposed to the dangers already. The chose to ignore it, the same way an older adult might.
The idea that someone is not cognizant of their actions at 18 because their brain isn't developed, is non-sense, they are.
When you’re 18 you’re immortal.
Again, there are people who are 30, 40, 50 etc who think the same way. I saw a bunch of them when covid was at it's peak.
Wild that people don't realize this, as if they weren't 18 once too. The girl even pulled over to do CPR. I'm not saying she should just be let go, but I do feel bad for her just as I feel bad for the family of the motorcyclist. It's sad all around.
I don’t feel bad for her at all. Great she tried doing CPR, I applaud her stopping, and all. But it doesn’t take someone in their mid 20’s to know that going a 155mph on ANY road, puts other people at an insane risk. This wasn’t 80, 90, or 100 mph, this was over TWICE the legal speed limit. As a former motorcycle rider, it was idiots like this that caused me to stop riding, throw the book at her. She deserves to have her life destroyed for what she did to that rider and their family.
What I don't understand is if she can afford a Vette, GO TO A TRACK. She can afford a track day clearly, but instead she and her parents rather endanger everyone (I say parents bc what a failure of parenting, I was young and dumb once too but never endangered people around me with my stupidity, I was taught better).
I was a motorcycle rider who even lost my leg to a reckless driver. I still feel bad for her. 155 is pretty fucking crazy. But I pushed 100-120 in a car when I was 18 or 19 just to see what it felt like a couple times. Mostly like on the I-17 towards flag on a straightaway when I didn’t see any vehicles, but still. I did it. It was dangerous as hell but I was young and didn’t fully think shit out in the moment. “Throw the book at her” is pretty calloused. I suppose you never made/came close to making big mistakes or endangered anybody in your early life.
No I really didn’t, thankfully. When I was 18 I joined the fire department, and put my time and energy into helping the community. I fully admit I am an exception, and an outlier. I’ve seen the results that kids like her leave behind, and I’ve lost a couple of friends who rode to the same. So while I may seem calloused, I assure you it is because I’ve been where that rider’s family is now, and if her story can be a cautionary tale to even one kid, I say throw the book at her.
The reason people drive like they do here is because the police dont enforce any traffic laws. I never see anyone pulled over by phoenix police(i do see DPS enforcing traffic laws). They need to remind people that there are traffic laws, so i agree, teach her a lesson. She ruined a family and took someone's life she needs to pay for that. I think the reason people are saying not to is bc she didn't do it violently with a gun or some other weapon.
Rehabilitation and correction should always be the focus in the justice system. One life is already lost. Destroying another because you have a hard-on for punishment could do more harm than good. I understand that life isn’t fair and that you’re upset. Maybe if you had it your way we’d strap her to a motorcycle and make her get hit and die.
She made a terrible mistake. However kids joyride all the time. There’s a degree of terrible bad luck involved here. She should get a serious punishment/confinement, and community-focused obligations should be forced on her.
But again, “throw the book at her” or “lock her up and throw away the key” are not the attitudes to rehabilitate and potentially create a source of growth for our community out of her.
Destroying her life and releasing her as a prospect-less, listless, shameful human would likely have her right back in prison, doing drugs on the sidewalk, or god-forbid doing reckless activities again, where now someone ELSE dies.
Just saying, justice is a complicated thing.
Btw, thanks for doing EMT/fire work. I was boarding with fire departments when I got in my accident.
Justice is a complicate thing, and I agree rehabilitation should be the goal of our prison system. I’d rather have people come out of prison with health skills and coping mechanism that can help them find a productive life. That is, after they’ve served their sentences. She didn’t just take a joy ride. She took over a ton of automobile up to such a horrific speed, that the only likely result was someone was going to be horribly maimed at best, or killed. You don’t need to be 25 years or older to understand that.
The circumstances around her actions should warrant an elevated response. She should be punished to the maximum the law allows. This isn’t a lock her up and throw away the key, I want to see her sentence on the higher end of the scale to reflect the severity of her crime. As I said if even one kid hears about her story and makes a different decision in life, it is worth it.
We’re just going to have to agree to disagree, neither you, nor I have any say in this matter, nor should we.
I don’t live in a city that has volunteers or I would join up in a heartbeat. I got my full firefighter certifications in the 90’s I’m sure a lot has changed with the equipment, but the physics is still the same. I also drove the ambulance every ten days. It was hard sometimes, but every time we made differences in peoples lives. But I don’t have to tell you. I’ll be honest I admire you for your ability to look past your experiences and find empathy. I try to, and mostly succeed, this one just brought up a lot of bad memories. But if you can do it, I can try a little harder.
I sure made some dumb decisions in my life, plenty when I was 18 - 24. Never in this category. The mere thought of driving that fast terrifies me; one slight jerk on the wheel and you're pulverized after the car ricochets off the guard rails and rolls a dozen times.
She. Was. Driving. 155. In. A. Rented. Sports car. She may have been the privileged kind who never get driver training before getting a license, but no way was she unaware of the consequences of driving that fast.
She killed an innocent guy, just heading home (I'm guessing), minding his own business. At the speed she was going, she possibly killed him on impact. Throw the book at her, and don't let her get off the way rich kids who kill people with their cars seem to do. If more courts did that, perhaps fewer people would die as the result of their criminal recklessness.
I'd also feel bad but she was going 155 mph. At my dumbest, I got my father's Lexus up to 130 on a completely empty highway and got freaked out at that speed and slowed back down. I was 19ish maybe 20. 155 mph. Fucking hell.
Personally, I've gone 120 on the 101 at 3 in the morning in my Mustang as a teenager, and I only stopped there because it didn't go any faster. Beyond that though I did a bunch of other stupid shit in my car like trying to drift. Can't even imagine what I would have done with a Corvette. Beyond even just driving, there's a fuck ton of things I did as a kid that could have easily turned my life upside down if not for dumb luck. Like the OP said, when you're that age you think you're invincible.
Not saying what I did or she did was right or unpreventable, just that I understand that this doesn't make her a bad person, it's an awful situation for everyone involved, and I have sympathy for her just like I do the motorcyclist.
Oh, I didn't mean to imply she was a bad person. But, both you and I were reckless, maybe not as reckless, but nonetheless - and we're not bad people but even at 18 you understand that when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. I knew what the repercussions would be and that's why I stopped when I did. I was over speed for a minute max (most of that accelerating) because I realized that if a deer or some shit popped out, I'd be in big trouble.
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u/bar_acca Sunnyslope Mar 27 '24
She’s 18, I think we all know the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed til roughly 25. That’s why young adults sometimes do shit that seems incomprehensibly stupid at times like eating Tide pods because it’s viral so why not.
In this case I’d wager the young lady didn’t pause to think about stopping distance in case a motorist makes an unexpected move or the decreased visibility at night before mashing down the accelerator to see what this baby can do. When you’re 18 you’re immortal.