Bicycle Austin forum

bizikletari

Member

Registered: 2009-03-18

Posts: 223

Driver hits two cyclists in order to avoid cardboard box, no charges

Now a car hits two cyclists to avoid hitting a cardboard box.
No charges to the driver and the box is still at large.

http://bit.ly/Z5IuLO

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,455

Website

Re: Driver hits two cyclists in order to avoid cardboard box, no charges

"Austin police say two women were riding bikes on the shoulder of Parmer Lane near Lakeline when a car hit them from behind.
The driver says she was swerving to avoid a box in the middle of the road.
Police say the two cyclists are now at a Round Rock hospital.
One of the women suffered serious to life-threatening injuries, the other is in stable condition.
Police are investigating. So far the driver is not facing charges."

Interesting comment on the Statesman's article:

I know one of those women. She is pregnant. I'm praying she will make a full recovery. Also, I advise her to never again ride one of those suicide machines. Let's make this a safer world.

So, the way we make this a safer world is to DRIVE MORE?  Right.

glockdoc

Member

Registered: 2012-04-06

Posts: 10

Re: Driver hits two cyclists in order to avoid cardboard box, no charges

Hopefully, the civil suit that should follow will leave this driver with nothing more than that box to live in.

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,455

Website

Re: Driver hits two cyclists in order to avoid cardboard box, no charges

Probably not.  It's a lot easier to win a judgment in Texas than it is to get the loser to actually pay up.  In a surprising example of candor, the Travis County Courts page on the subject starts out with, "It is very difficult to collect a money judgment in Texas."

They continue:

Our law provides that only non-exempt property of the judgment debtor may be seized to satisfy the judgment. Most judgment debtors do not have non-exempt property; in other words, most people have only exempt property. This means that even though you might obtain a judgment against someone, it is likely that you may never recover any money. Please consider this before you take the time and the expense of filing a lawsuit.

A person's home is exempt, along with the first $30,000 of personal possessions (including their motor vehicle).