AUTOMOBILE AS A WEAPON

[HairOfTheDog]

Automobiles aren't designed to be weapons and almost all auto deaths are accidents or a result of negligence rather than intent.

But, I've read about two cases recently where automobiles may have been used willfully to hurt or kill people.


TEXAS


Jury selection began today in the trial of ^ 23-year-old Rashad Owens, the man accused of driving into a crowd and killing two during South by Southwest in 2014.

Owens has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of 35-year-old Steven Craenmehr of Amsterdam, Holland and Austin resident Jamie West, 27.

Police said that Owens fled from an officer when he was pulled over at a gas station on the I-35 service road, drove the wrong way down Ninth Street - a one-way street - and through a SXSW barricade. Police said he then drove through a group of pedestrians standing outside of Mohawk, a popular bar and music venue, killing Craenmehr and West.

He is also being charged with 24 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He’s accused of injuring 24 people, some critically with his vehicle.

After being treated and released for minor injuries sustained in the crash, Owens agreed to a breath test and it showed his blood-alcohol content as .114, according an arrest affidavit. The legal blood-alcohol limit in Texas in .08.

Despite the two capital murder charges, prosecutors said they do not plan to seek the death penalty against Owens.

http://patch.com/texas/downtownaustin/ju...owd-begins

[HairOfTheDog]

OKLAHOMA


^ Adacia Chambers, 25, faces second-degree murder charges after authorities said she plowed a car into the crowd at an Oklahoma State University homecoming parade on Saturday, killing four people, including a toddler.

Chambers, a resident of the college town, was arrested after the Saturday crash on a driving while under the influence charge, and Stillwater police said Sunday she was being held on four additional counts of second-degree murder.

Chambers' attorney Tony Coleman said that his client may suffer from a mental illness. He also said she did not smell of alcohol when he met her hours after the crash. Police are awaiting blood tests to determine if she was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Witnesses of the crash described a scene of chaos as bodies flew into the air from the impact and landed on the road. Three adults and a 2-year-old boy, who wasn't immediately identified, were killed and at least 46 others were hurt, including at least four critically injured. Hospitals initially said five were critically injured, but one of those was upgraded to fair condition on Sunday.

Chambers told police she was suicidal at the time of the crash. The prosecutor argued in court today that she "intentionally drove her car into a crowd."

The prosecutor said Chambers was a "flight risk" because she faces the possibility of four life terms; she is being held on $1 million bond.

Very sad for the victims and their families.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fami...et-n451696

[username]

I hadn't heard of the first case but the second has been all over the news. It's shocking and terribly frightening. I'm curious to find out what was in her system. I have driven under the influence. I'm much more cautious now but years ago...? Not so much. The driver is 25. Don't get me wrong, I have no sympathy for her (far from it) but still it's startling what a really, REALLY, stupid, HUGE mistake in judgment (driving under the influence of whatever she was on) has now caused so much devastation. I imagine she didn't start her day pre-meditating killing 4 people (so far) and injuring roughly 40 others but that's what she did. Because she made a horribly dumb decision to get behind the wheel of her car. And her life is over as well. Don't drink (or use) and drive.

[BlueTiki]

Chambers' attorney Tony Coleman said that his client may suffer from a mental illness.

I wanna know if she's at or below the poverty level.

[username]

Newspaper article this morning said her actions were at least somewhat "purposeful". That she knowingly drove in to that crowd. I want to know which it is...an "accident" from being loaded out of her mind or purposeful (even if she was loaded out of her mind for "courage"). Either way...although the latter seems to justify first degree charges.

Her family/friends are "shocked". Always a nice girl, no indications of substance abuse, blah, blah. I'm sure more will be revealed.

[HairOfTheDog]

Chambers' attorney Tony Coleman said that his client may suffer from a mental illness.

I wanna know if she's at or below the poverty level.

Well, do a little digging Tiki. I'm sure you'll be able to satisfy your curiosity.

Mental illness and poverty both contribute to certain types of crimes and general crime rates, in my opinion, but they don't contribute to all crimes.

Anyway, at this point, I'm more curious to find out whether she was impaired by alcohol and/or drugs and if she drove into a crowd of people with the intention of committing mass murder and possibly suicide.

[HairOfTheDog]

Newspaper article this morning said her actions were at least somewhat "purposeful". That she knowingly drove in to that crowd. I want to know which it is...an "accident" from being loaded out of her mind or purposeful (even if she was loaded out of her mind for "courage"). Either way...although the latter seems to justify first degree charges.

Her family/friends are "shocked". Always a nice girl, no indications of substance abuse, blah, blah. I'm sure more will be revealed.

It'll be interesting to see if the toxicology results support the claims of the family and the boyfriend (who say she wouldn't have been drinking or on drugs).

Her dad says she was committed to a mental institution in the past and was good at hiding her problems so her family wouldn't worry.

Her defense attorney is pushing the "mental illness" defense hard in the press and also claims his client likely blacked out and doesn't remember what happened.

The attorney requested a psych eval in court yesterday and the judge granted it. She'll be back in court on November 13.

(She's charged with four counts of second degree murder and one count of driving under the influence at this time.)

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/osu-crash-suspe...d=34740020

[BlueTiki]

Well, do a little digging Tiki. I'm sure you'll be able to satisfy your curiosity.

Mental illness and poverty both contribute to certain types of crimes and general crime rates, in my opinion, but they don't contribute to all crimes.

Anyway, at this point, I'm more curious to find out whether she was impaired by alcohol and/or drugs and if she drove into a crowd of people with the intention of committing mass murder and possibly suicide.

Chambers was sent home early from her job on Saturday (Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers) “because they thought she was on drugs.” She had worked until midnight, on Friday.

A co-worker said that Chambers “kept to herself, (and was) definitely not as loud and social as the others.”

Her FB page only contained pictures of her . . . alone.

She lives with her boyfriend, Jesse Gaylord (an OSU Student), in Stilwater, who stated that his girlfriend was “working two jobs and mentioned having trouble sleeping.”

According to her father, she was planning on moving back to her hometown of Oologah (her hometown), one hundred miles from Stillwater.

I was curious as to what economic barriers, if any, were a possible hindrance, preventing this woman from seeking professional treatment . . . if she suffered from physical or mental health issues.

Other than that, I consider her as another mass-killer.

[Maggot]

She is just a dumb ass that got hopped up and took a joyride. No empathy for anyone and now will try and blame it on mental, economic, childhood abuse anything that gets her out of it.

[F.U.]

now will try and blame it on mental, economic, childhood abuse anything that gets her out of it.

No one wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore. Instead of manning up and dealing with the consequences of their actions everyone looks for the easy way out.

[Maggot]

lawyers tell them to do that. I consider them the 3^rd chimp in the tree.

[BlueTiki]

lawyers tell them to do that. I consider them the 3^rd chimp in the tree.

Let's not forget the judicial system's chimp . . . the plea bargain.

[HairOfTheDog]

Mental Illness Defense for Adacia Chambers

Yesterday, an EMT who assisted Adacia Chambers after the crash told a reporter that Chambers immediately told him that she was trying to kill herself.

She told the police the same thing several times and had no affect during her interviews. She has a documented history of suicide attempts and mental illness.

LINK: http://fox6now.com/2015/10/28/i-was-tryi...su-parade/

In this case, I believe mental illness was genuinely a factor -- based on her previous suicide attempts, her previous hospitalizations, and the witness's statement.

But it will be difficult, in my opinion, for her defense attorney to successfully use a criminal insanity defense because the attorney would have to demonstrate that she didn't know what she was doing, or she didn't know what she was doing was wrong. That's the criteria to meet the legal definition of "insanity".

I think a jury would have a hard time believing, suicidal or not, that she didn't know that she was driving into a crowd of people and that it could cause death and injury to others. In that regard, I think it might slightly help Chambers' attorney if the tox screen comes back positive for drugs and/or alcohol. I don't know when those tox reports will be available/released.


These are the four fatal victims of the crash.

RIP.

[ramseycat]

If you're trying to kill yourself in your car you hit a tree. Drive off a bridge. You don't drive into a crowd of people.

[username]

As usual HotD is spot on. Impaired and insane seem like a better defense than just insane.

K-nuts.

[HairOfTheDog]

NEW YORK

I think it's unlikely that this was intentional, but all possibilities are under investigation. Very sad story.




An out-of-control car plowed into a group of trick-or-treaters and their parents in New York City on Saturday evening, killing three people, including a ten-year-old girl, police said.

Louis Perez, a 65-year-old retired veteran, suffered head trauma and died at the scene, police said. Investigators say 24-year-old Kristian Leka and ten-year-old Nyanna Aquil were taken to a hospital, where they pronounced dead. RIP.

Three-year-old Jasmina Aquil was critically injured in the incident, while 21-year-old Greata Leka and a nine-year-old girl were hospitalized, authorities said.

Moments before the car jumped the sidewalk, the driver, Howard Unger - 52, had crossed over a double yellow line in the road after bumping into the back of a Toyota Camry, police said.

Kristina DeJesus was on the sidewalk in front of the victims. She said. 'All of a sudden ... I heard the boom, and the car like literally jumped over a parked car and flew into the gate, hitting a bunch of people.' DeJesus, a hospital administrative assistant said that she saw a man whose 'body was torn in half'.

'There was a young girl on the side of the car. She was like, 'Can somebody help me?' I was screaming at her, 'Whatever you do, don't move!',' DeJesus recounted.

Witness Laurie Grey Williams told the New York Daily News that the driver, Unger, looked more scared than injured after the crash. 'People were trying to get to him, screaming and yelling,' Williams said. 'He was more scared than anything else because people were trying to threaten him.'

Unger was hospitalized after the crash; investigation underway.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z3qH4vDsgk

[Maggot]

Some people can live like 30 min without any guts and sit there and talk for quite a while I guess.

[HairOfTheDog]

Update to Post 1


A Travis County jury found ^ Rashad Owens (he got a new do) guilty of capital murder after three hours of deliberations.

By convicting Owens of capital murder, the jury found he knew his actions carried a reasonable certainty killing others on March 13, 2014 when he was trying to elude an officer pulling him over on a traffic violation; he later tested at nearly double the legal blood alcohol level.

Since the state decided to not seek the death penalty, Owens will be sentenced to an automatic life in prison with no parole. The jury had the option to convict Owens on 1^st degree murder and sentence him between 5-99 years in prison.

A Travis County jury found Rashad Owens guilty of capital murder after three hours of deliberations. By convicting Owens of capital murder, the jury found he knew his actions carried a reasonable certainty killing others on March 13, 2014 when he was trying to elude an officer pulling him over on a traffic violation. Since the state decided to not seek the death penalty, Owens will be sentenced to an automatic life in prison with no parole.


DeAndre Tatum - 18, Steven Craenmehr - 35, Jamie West- 27, and Sandy Le -26, were killed in the crash at the Texas outdoor music festival. RIP

Ref: http://kxan.com/2015/11/06/rashad-owens-...xsw-crash/
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While Owens, an aspiring rapper, was stoic during his trial, he cracked and cried when the victims were making their impact statements. He'll have the rest of his life behind bars to regret his actions.

[HairOfTheDog]

If you're trying to kill yourself in your car you hit a tree. Drive off a bridge. You don't drive into a crowd of people.

Exactly.

Mentally ill or not, it will be very hard for a defense attorney to convince a jury that Acacia Chambers could not foresee that her choice would endanger the lives of others.


Acacia Chambers' attorney, ^ Tony Coleman, is trying however. He said his client had a history of mental illness symptoms which included not sleeping for several nights at a time.

She left work crying just before the accident and told police that she was suicidal when they arrested her after the accident. If it goes to trial, she and Coleman will have to convince a jury that she wasn't intentionally or negligently homicidal as well (I think she'll probably take a plea deal rather than go to trial).

According to the Daily Mail, the toxicology tests have been completed and show that her blood alcohol level was only .01.

Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z3sEWNYfKG

[HairOfTheDog]

Las Vegas

Last night, a female driver killed 1 person, critically injured 6 people, and injured 30 others when she drove onto the sidewalk on busy Las Vegas Blvd.

The driver was stopped by police.

Police have ruled out terrorism as a motive, but believe it may have been intentional.



The driver is being tested for impairment.