Texas family dies while driving to Disney

[conandrob240]

Gosh, I don't blame the teen one single bit. At 16, you are doing everything you can to get to drive. As the parent, you need to set those limits. Limit #1 when I was driving was that there was no transporting of siblings or other kids for at least the first year or two unless very local or an emergency. Highway driving was practiced with an experienced adult present only, never with a carload of passengers. Night driving was somewhat restricted except locally as well. And if a highway or distance was involved, a parent was up and alert and right there present with me. And, even before it was the law, distractions were reduced (no radio) and seatbelts worn at all times. So many things wrong here but none of them the fault of this kid. And now he has to live with his parents stupidity.

That picture of the SUV is chilling. No one had to die in that crash. The "cage" is intact in that vehicle. It responded exactly as it should to rolling. People are dead because of poor parental supervision or ignorance or a little of both. The SUV would be a great display to take around to schools to highlight the importance of seatbelts (just like those drunk driving crash cars we all saw back in high school)

As for people who don't wear seatbelts- ignorance here too. While there have been deaths from seatbelts cutting improperly or airbags deploying incorrectly, the amount of lives saved from those safety features 1000x (probably more) outweighs the 1 in a million negative consequences. If anyone questions the use of a seatbelt, show them that SUV.

 

[POOHsie]

In 1959, my ditzy aunt was driving 3 of us kids (me-5, sis 7, sis 2). On a 30-mph street, she turned a corner too fast, hit the granite curb and crashed into a fire hydrant. We were tossed around and young sis, 2, hit the windshield. We all had to be treated. Soon after, my late dad paid to have seat belts installed in our car and that was now the only way we traveled. If no seat belts - we didn't ride in your car. Our new 1961 wagon didn't have seat belts, and dad again paid to have them installed. We were veteran seat belt users before they were standard equipment in cars.

My dad (who sold car insurance) would never allow us to travel in an overloaded car, have unsafe equipment, would never let us (as teens) drive the family anywhere, and never would allow a driving trip without a planned sleep stop. If it meant we didn't have the right car to go to Disney (for example), or couldn't afford the time or money for 8 ppl to sleep during the drive, then we wouldn't go. Dad and mom wouldn't compromise our family's safety and I'm grateful to them for those family values. Us kids have proudly passed them along to two generations now.

 

[Aurora0427]

I haven't read the entire thread, but what a senseless tradegy. No seat belts. Putting your life in the hands of a new driver- a child. Who will now feel guilty for the rest of his life. If they'd just pulled over and stopped at a motel, everyone would be alive. It's just awful.

 

[Aurora0427]

Gosh, I don't blame the teen one single bit. At 16, you are doing everything you can to get to drive. As the parent, you need to set those limits. Limit #1 when I was driving was that there was no transporting of siblings or other kids for at least the first year or two unless very local or an emergency. Highway driving was practiced with an experienced adult present only, never with a carload of passengers. Night driving was somewhat restricted except locally as well. And if a highway or distance was involved, a parent was up and alert and right there present with me. And, even before it was the law, distractions were reduced (no radio) and seatbelts worn at all times. So many things wrong here but none of them the fault of this kid. And now he has to live with his parents stupidity.

That picture of the SUV is chilling. No one had to die in that crash. The "cage" is intact in that vehicle. It responded exactly as it should to rolling. People are dead because of poor parental supervision or ignorance or a little of both. The SUV would be a great display to take around to schools to highlight the importance of seatbelts (just like those drunk driving crash cars we all saw back in high school)

As for people who don't wear seatbelts- ignorance here too. While there have been deaths from seatbelts cutting improperly or airbags deploying incorrectly, the amount of lives saved from those safety features 1000x (probably more) outweighs the 1 in a million negative consequences. If anyone questions the use of a seatbelt, show them that SUV.

This- exactly

 

[Dznefreek]

Funny but if you replaced driving to Disney with say . . .Walmart I believe there would have not been any interest in this story.
While I agree it is sad; the fact of the matter is people die in accidents all the time and I doubt anyone on this board is scrutinizing other accidents with such fervor.
Go go gadget flame suit! ! ! ! !

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Instead of judging them for what they may have done wrong or what they could have done better I'll just be thankful I can still hug my kids tonight and take this as a lesson learned.

 

[kevdad]

Funny but if you replaced driving to Disney with say . . .Walmart I believe there would have not been any interest in this story.

They were headed to Disney for a "trip of a lifetime" as many others on this board are, some with their families in their car. Not sure why it's surprising to you why there's interest, it hits particularly close to home.

 

[conandrob240]

Any opportunity to educate people on auto safety is a good one whether it be wholly relevant on a Disney board or not.

As for "passing judgement"- eh. If there was no debate, there'd be no lessons learned for the living. If it saved one life with one person re-considering a poor driving choice, worth passing judgement.

 

[KimBean]

I'm so sorry for the loss of life. Especially those children. But, my heart is absolutely breaking for the teen boy who still has to go on from all this. I can't even put words together...

 

[EPCOTatNight]

Instead of judging them for what they may have done wrong or what they could have done better I'll just be thankful I can still hug my kids tonight and take this as a lesson learned.

Our "judging" is how we decipher what went wrong and what was avoidable. Also, children died because of adults mistakes. Teachers, at that. That really is conversation worthy.

 

[DisMom829]

Wow that's so sad. I can't even fathom what the surviving members are going to experience for the rest of their lives after a life changing event like this. My heart goes out to the family and their loved ones. This is a great reminder why we DO NOT drive from Texas to Disney World. A 2 1/2 hour flight is no match for a 14 hour drive from my city. When you factor in gas, food and lodging for the trip itself, it's probably just a few bucks more to fly....at least it is for us.

Such a tragedy that could have been prevented. Many prayers to the families.

We made the drive from Texas in August, cost $162 in fuel round trip, Honda Accord. $45 for food/Starbucks. MUCH cheaper than flying for two of us. And seeing the sights is half the fun of getting there. Or at least for us it is.

 

[LSUfan4444]

As noted, the 16 year old driver has been charged with careless operation of a vehicle. I'm trying to decide if that counts as "blame." I don't know if I'd call it that - he lost control of a vehicle he was driving and that's the basis of the charge.

http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/local/2014/11/21/16-year-old-son-charged-in-crash-that-killed-his-family/19336765/

The driver, who was not identified, was cited with reckless operation of a vehicle following the 11pm crash on Interstate 20 near Calhoun, Louisiana, state police spokesman Michael Reichardt said.

Previous versions of this story erroneously reported the charge against the driver. The driver was cited with careless operation, a misdemeanor, not reckless operation of a vehicle, which is a felony.



It may seem petty, but the difference between careless and reckless operation is HUGE. As if he didn't ave enough on his hands, now he has to fight a felony charge.

 

[conandrob240]

Well, there must be some basis to the charge, no? Even if the teen was speeding, I still blame him very little. An adult should have been controlling and supervising his driving every step of the way.

 

[yeheyprincex2]

Wow that's so sad. I can't even fathom what the surviving members are going to experience for the rest of their lives after a life changing event like this. My heart goes out to the family and their loved ones.

This is a great reminder why we DO NOT drive from Texas to Disney World. A 2 1/2 hour flight is no match for a 14 hour drive from my city. When you factor in gas, food and lodging for the trip itself, it's probably just a few bucks more to fly....at least it is for us.

We are from the DFW area and we also choose to fly. The money we spend is well worth 3 hour flight. It would take us two days to drive from DFW to Disney with a over night stay coming and going with two children strapped in their car seats its not a drive in interested in. Maybe when my boy are older, maybe.

 

[lmcarr49]

I was on her Facebook page. It was eery seeing her son pose with his license next to the Tahoe. The pic was taken in September.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Funny but if you replaced driving to Disney with say . . .Walmart I believe there would have not been any interest in this story.
While I agree it is sad; the fact of the matter is people die in accidents all the time and I doubt anyone on this board is scrutinizing other accidents with such fervor.
Go go gadget flame suit! ! ! ! !

Disney made it a national story--but I actually get emotional about pretty much all car accident stories resulting on a fatality regardless of the destination.

When egregious errors are involved, people will talk about it. As they should. It educates people the importance of being safe when driving a vehicle.

We have several families heading down around Thanksgiving for our combined vacation. And I will have anxiety until they arrive.

So maybe, speak for yourself?

 

[SimonSez]

Horrible beyond words

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well, there must be some basis to the charge, no? Even if the teen was speeding, I still blame him very little. An adult should have been controlling and supervising his driving every step of the way.

The basis was that he was the driver. And legally, that is as it should be.

I do hope that mercy is shown to him as he navigates the legal process. This was not his "moral" fault even if it was his "legal" fault. This accident would not have happened if the parents made appropriate decisions. The deaths would not have happened had the parents made appropriate decisions. I'm pretty confident they were sleeping at the time of the accident.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

Well, there must be some basis to the charge, no? Even if the teen was speeding, I still blame him very little. An adult should have been controlling and supervising his driving every step of the way.

I live in Louisiana. Here, a ticket is written at the scene of EVERY accident. The troopers had no choice. They showed compassion by citing him with a misdemeanor.

 

[bdcp]

I knew someone 30+ years ago that I worked with while in college. He was driving his family on a long trip and he fell asleep and ran off the highway and hit a semi. His mother and a sibling were killed. He was 18 at the time and was not charged. He had issues to deal with but last I heard was married and had a family. He was a really nice guy and had a lot to deal with. The difference with this story is the family not wearing seatbelts. The reason my friend and his dad survived was due to seatbelts. His mom and sibling died because the impact was so severe on the passenger side. I do agree that people make poor decisions concerning seatbelts and the fact is, they were probably pretty much overloaded in that vehicle. Us commenting doesn't make anyone "judging". It's human nature to comment and decide what we think was wrong with the whole scenario.