Takara Davis, 13-year-old girl in coma, gets jaywalking ticket at hospital

Takara Davis, 13-year-old girl in coma, gets jaywalking ticket at hospital

www.ny dailynews.com

A comatose 13-year-old Las vegas girl who is fighting for her life after being hit by a car has been given a ticket for jaywalking.

Takara Davis's mother received the citation at the hospital earlier this week, KLAS-TV reported.

Recounting what a police officer told her, Kellie Obong, Davis' mom, said giving her the ticket at the hospital was in poor taste.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Seriously?

Does common sense or compassion EVER override something as ridiculous as this? I mean, showing up at a hospital, to issue the grieving mother of a comatose teen, to issue her a TICKET?

What the heck is our society coming to. Very cold and insensitive. And I agree with their comments here--They could have at least picked a better time or place than showing up in such a distressing scenario, to add insult to injury (literally).

Sigh.

*Edit to add in* Local news strory and video:

www.8newsnow.com...

www.ny dailynews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Cops have a job to do. It's not to think or care or even understand. It's simply to find you, catch you and help prosecute you.

They're like robots with guns.


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reply to post by DimensionalDetective


The human race is such a fun thing to be a part of, don't you think?

Even besides the fact that being fined for walking across a road in the wrong place is, well, ridiculous, how could anyone be heartless enough to hand the ticket over in a hospital?

Couldn't they at least have kept it on file until she wakes up? It's not as if she's likely to re-offend before hand.

The brainless cop who issued that ticket is EXACTLY the kind of brain dead automaton the Police State likes to recruit.

It's people like that cop who make dictatorships and tyrants possible.

This was extremely insensitive. This cop should win the ColdHeart of the Year Award hands down. It's like another poster said, they are just robots anymore. No human compassion at all.

They did the same to my baby sister, except she wasn't in a coma. She was 13 at the time, the nearest crosswalk is like 10 miles away lol.... Dude was speeding and not paying attention, the guy in front of them had stopped to let them cross the road safetly. Idiot guy swerver around the stopped car on the shoulder... Even the responding officer said something stupid like "Well that's what you get for not bieng in a crosswalk" Then again it was a NY cop, enough said if you have dealt with NY cops lol.

Welcome to america, one of the most retarded nations on the planet. Not only do the cops think they have absolute authority over civilians, but so does the entire legal system. Laws, laws, laws... Just because it's supposedly a "law" does not mean that it is absolutely true and certainly does not mean that it must be obeyed. There's not much we can do about that though. Some cops will use any excuse they can think of to give you a ticket.

First of all , pedestrians should have right of way on every road but large motorways. We are better for the environment, cost a hell of a lot less to fuel, and a person who walks is a person who stays fit , and doesnt cost the taxpayer a bunch in anti obesity treatment.
Second, considering the girl is lying half dead on a hospital ward with her family tearing thier hair out, you would have thought that a) there are better times (like after shes woken up) to issue her a jaywalking ticket and b) that baring in mind the circumstances, shes learned her lesson, since a coma is a far worse sentence than a fine(which she wont be able to pay if shes just payed for x weeks of coma treatment in hospital). Everyone from the mook that decided that it would be a good idea to order officers to perform this sort of duty under those circumstances , right down to the officer involved who should , regardless of orders , know much better, should be crotch punted and thrown down some stairs in my opinion.

Speaking strictly from an liability insurance perspective, if she was jaywalking and was struck by a vehicle then the ticket was a necessary evil to establish liability. The ticket basically says "you jaywalked and caused an accident". Without the ticket, the girls family could get an attorney and go after the drivers liability policy. Now, the ticket doesn't exclude the possibility of attorney retention, however, it will dissuade attorneys from taking a "lost cause" liability lawsuit.

It also establishes liability against the girl, so the driver's insurance company can subrogate against the responsible party (in this case the girl's parents).
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My personal opinion is that they could have simply denoted in the police report that she was the responsible party and left it at that. I have a feeling that a judge will dismiss the ticket.

Originally posted by TrueBrit
should be crotch punted and thrown down some stairs in my opinion.

Seriously though, this is really a story which shows how ridiculous and overboard our legal and traffic violation system has become.

And your point is well taken---This should be followed up the chain of command, right to the top of that department, and there should be questions asked and points addressed. They are lacking HUGE in the PR department for something like this to have happened. It is almost 'robotic', like others have pointed out. When quotas or revenue is more important than compassion or common sense for a grieving family and a kid hanging on life support, there is something REALLY amiss.

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Speaking strictly from an liability insurance perspective, if she was jaywalking and was struck by a vehicle then the ticket was a necessary evil to establish liability. The ticket basically says "you jaywalked and caused an accident". Without the ticket, the girls family could get an attorney and go after the drivers liability policy. Now, the ticket doesn't exclude the possibility of attorney retention, however, it will dissuade attorneys from taking a "lost cause" liability lawsuit.

It also establishes liability against the girl, so the driver's insurance company can subrogate against the responsible party (in this case the girl's parents).
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My personal opinion is that they could have simply denoted in the police report that she was the responsible party and left it at that. I have a feeling that a judge will dismiss the ticket.

I'm not a crazy driver and I've almost hit people running across the street. This is in the city where the nearest crosswalk is often no more than 100ft away. I always fear for getting manslaughter charges or something if it ever does happen even if there was nothing I could do to prevent hitting them. In that respect, I fully understand and, from that perspective, appreciate there being a record of who was at fault. HOWEVER, I agree wholeheartedly that this was an epic foul.

Originally posted by an0maly33
I always fear for getting manslaughter charges or something if it ever does happen even if there was nothing I could do to prevent hitting them.

I wouldn't worry about manslaughter charges. If you are observing the speed limit (and other traffic laws) and not under the influence and could not otherwise prevent hitting the pedestrian, then you would be absolved of any crime. If the person is jaywalking and you strike them outside the crosswalk, then they are at fault. The police report would indicate the exact spot of the accident (especially if death occurs). A grand jury may review the case, but they would have no cause to pursue criminal charges.

With being said, a driver does owe a greater duty to look for hazards (i.e., jaywalkers) in residential areas, where many times there are no cross walks and it is reasonably expected that people (especially young children) may dart out into traffic.

On city streets and highways, you owe no duty beyond not intentionally trying to hit a pedestrian and observing designated pedestrian crossings.

Why is this policeman getting the insults? Unless it was his idea to issue the ticket he has done nothing wrong, it is his job whether he likes it or not.

Now there are circumstances when 'it was my job' arn't an excuse, like if you are ordered to injure/kill innocent people etc. But this physically hurt nobody and caused no real issues other than seeming unthoughtful. Why should that policeman risk his job by refusing to deliver the ticket.

Don't shoot the messenger.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Actually,I don't think this girl is necessarily legally at fault.It may be illegal to jaywalk,but as far as I know,it's still illegal to purposely hit them.

reply to post by StevenDye


I agree , one should not shoot the messenger. One should assasinate his character, his inability to allow compassion to override mere orders, and his inability to value peoples psychological well being at times of stress, above his own comparitively small issues regarding discipline.
Men should act from the heart when hearts are breaking, not carry on regardless like a brick through a cracked window. Making excuses for that is assisting broken bureaucratic systems in thier constant wearing down of moral decency between citizens and agents of the government. It is not acceptable, even if he was ordered by the president to deliver the ticket.
Its nothing but a foul business , which shows the machine like lack of compassion the system has for those it has power over.

i wouldn't be surprised if this was done on purpose to make people angry or myabe their greed is getting the best of them plus with a ticket for jay walking the real cruelty is now the girl may be at fault and not the driver maybe this is so the insurance company does not have to pay the hospital.

There are civil issues to consider here. The driver of the car, the poor pedestrian, and the city all have to be prepared to be scrutinized for the inevitable civil case.

I am sure that the cop was ordered to issue the ticket, by the local DA, or police officials, to establish that the girl had been jaywalking. It's a harsh thing but it would look bad if this girl and her parents filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the city and then to say "Oh, and they didn't cite her for her supposed jaywalking for months after the fact."

As horrible as this looks, it's just legalities and the crossing of T's and dotting of I's.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide


Then priorities need to change. There should never be a situation where the functions of law overwhelm a families right to peace in troubled times. If there are such situations, then the emphasis of society needs to change, immediately to a more compassionate mode. Continuing in such a brutal and utterly reprehensible fashion is unjustifiable to a moral person.

If the girl didn't J-Walk and caused an accident this whole situation could of have been avoided...