If you could decide this person's penalty, what would it be?

[IIamaKing]

I told this story here 2 years ago, but today, I found out that the injured party died, as a result ( so I was told )...... I don't have any details other than what I saw with my own two eyes. Just go with what I give you.

It was POURING RAIN like the proverbial cats and dogs, and I was driving west on a 4 lane road - 2 lanes each way..... traffic was stopped for a car accident....... the police had us waiting for about 5 minutes or so..... The guy behind me decides he won't wait any longer and does a fast U-Turn..... and don't you know, the ambulance that was coming to help smashes right into the car that did the illegal U-Turn. The car and the ambulance are pretty darn messed up. They will need another ambulance and personnel to help the person from the original accident ( the guy who I was told died )

At that point the police blocked the area off and made us all turn around and go another way.

What penalty would you assign to the guy who did the illegal U-Turn into the path of the ambulance?

W/e the standard penalty for an illegal u-turn is. The guys intent was not cause harm it was to get the fuck out of the traffic jam.

[Xar226]

I'm with the folks who don't think the fate of the victim in the earlier crash influences the level of punishment for this action.

It does though. There is such a crime as negligent homicide: That your dangerous behavior caused another person's death, regardless of whether or not you intended to do so. The prosecution could definitely try for such a charge. (In some jurisdictions this would be covered under/referred to as involuntary manslaughter, in others it is a separate crime.)

Problem is, the scenario involves a guy who needed an ambulance which means he was already hurt, probably pretty badly. Negligent homicide would require that the driver's actions (his U-turn) were the proximate cause of death -- that is, that his actions directly caused the victim to die. While I'm sure that nobody has any issue with the idea that more timely medical care would have improved the victim's chances, with somebody who is badly injured to begin with it's going to be pretty hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the delay was what killed him.

To answer the OP more directly: You cite him for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and an illegal U-turn regardless. If you want to try to stick it to him you charge negligent homicide/involuntary manslaughter and take your chances with the jury with the knowledge that there is a fair chance you aren't going to win.

[Slant]

I can't help it if people want to make their own assumptions. The guy died a few days later. Might he have lived if the 1st ambulance was not hit by the illegal U-Turn? I don't know. I said in my original post that I was telling people what I saw, and that was all.

Cause and effect has this thing where the stuff you don't know in this case actually is crucial to make an informed decision. If you don't know if the u-turn was cause to the death, then this whole discussion is moot to begin with. If it's not the cause, then we have nothing to talk about. If it is the cause, then we can talk about responsibility.

Assumptions usually are made when a story is incomplete.

You want to know about the legal details, they have been laid out in case it was at least partially causal to the death. I've reiterated the basics long enough. That you feel differently is natural and you don't have reason to doubt your opinion over it. But I'm telling you, legally, this isn't half as much a clear cut case as your or Linadra's emotions are telling you... Take it or leave it, it's up to you.

[GarlicGuy]

Cause and effect has this thing where the stuff you don't know in this case actually is crucial to make an informed decision. If you don't know if the u-turn was cause to the death, then this whole discussion is moot to begin with. If it's not the cause, then we have nothing to talk about. If it is the cause, then we can talk about responsibility.

Assumptions usually are made when a story is incomplete.

You want to know about the legal details, they have been laid out in case it was at least partially causal to the death. I've reiterated the basics long enough. That you feel differently is natural and you don't have reason to doubt your opinion over it. But I'm telling you, legally, this isn't half as much a clear cut case as your or Linadra's emotions are telling you... Take it or leave it, it's up to you.

No I do not want to know legal details.... I simply wanted to know what punishment people would give if they had the choice. It is right in the title...... You seem to make too much of things. It was a simple question and you want to mount a legal defense.