Yesterday, Darrell Brooks Jr. was arraigned over in Kenosha Wisconsin charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, a charge that carries a mandatory life sentence.  Brooks allegedly drove his vehicle past roadblocks and into an active parade, running over dozens of people having fun, killing five that day, followed by a sixth who died of his injuries, a young boy.  

As we give thanks for our own blessings this day, we should also be thankful that such incidences are rare occurrences, and that the driver of a vehicle involved in such a horrific deed (if it does turn out that it was intentional) will be severely punished for the crime.

On October 10, 2021, Ludington had its own similar tragedy when an older out-of-state couple plowed their truck into three pedestrians on James Street.  It does not appear to have been done intentionally.  The trio of older women from Grand Rapids were walking west in the crosswalk just south of Loomis Street when they were hit by the truck.  The restaurant leftovers and other effects of the women were scattered into the street.  Two of them were hit glancingly, while one, Gloria Trent, was carried several dozen feet by the truck before the driver realized what had happened and stopped.  Neither the driver, Joann Rogers, or her husband, Dale (both pictured below), in the front passenger seat say they saw the women. 

In the police investigation, they discovered that TOJ Jewelry on Loomis had one of their security cameras pointed towards the intersection.  Four days later they retrieved the video from Tom Organ which showed the crash.  It can be observed in the video that the women were in the crosswalk for several seconds making it over halfway across, before a truck enters from the left in the video and never appears to slow down before contact is made.  That video is below, with the collision occurring at 44 seconds into the video; the video is low definition and does not show the aftermath, but be warned if you are sensitive to such content:

As noted in the LPD police report and the MCSO investigative case report, the accident investigation team also conducted a 'speed study', compiling the video below to figure out that the driver was driving at or just under the speed limit during the time they were on film.  

LPD Officer Angela Babinec was one of the responders to the incident, conducting interviews with victims, witnesses, and the truck's occupants.  She would also transport the driver to the hospital for a blood draw in order to assess whether she was driving impaired or not.  Her body cam with edited content reflects her involvement that night, found in the following video:

While one cannot equate this incident with the Kenosha one in terms of intentional conduct by the driver, Mrs. Rogers and her husband both indicate they were looking more at the roadside businesses than what was ahead of them in the street while perhaps driving too fast for the conditions (nighttime and a light drizzle). 

This incident may not have been done intentionally, but it does suggest there was a degree of carelessness on the driver's behalf since one would suspect that over 99% of drivers in this situation would see what's directly in front of them in the street, slow down or stop, and let the crosswalk clear.  

Had the Rogers couple (originally from the area) spent a little more time on driving safely through this busy downtown street, their Thanksgiving along with the Thanksgivings of their three victims and their families would all have been much more pleasant. 

Negligent driving and its consequences need to be punished severely to reflect the rights of others lawfully using the street or road, careless drivers need to be punished almost as much as those who drive while impaired or those who would maliciously use their vehicle as a weapon.  If drivers continue to get off without any consequences, the carelessness will only continue and get worse.  Joann Rogers has not been charged with anything 46 days later.