Just was browsing through cyclingnews.com and came across this article. My question is how can a car driver get away with killing a cyclist ? not just in this article but i have read in other articles as well. One would go to jail for life they killed someone with a baseball bat but killing a cyclist its like getting a slap on the wrist.. This is just fu#ked. Is the law ever going to change ?
any comments ?
No jail for SMS killer
24 year old Australian woman Silvia Nicole Ciach has been given a suspended two year jail sentence for killing cyclist Anthony Marsh on Port Arlington Road near Melbourne on December 31, 2001. Ciach pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death: she didn't see Marsh because she was sending an SMS to a friend while driving.
In handing down her sentence, Judge Susan Cohen of the County Court of Geelong said that, "It is tragic that a man's life was lost in these circumstances but this case should serve as a stark warning to all that the risk is very real and with the extended use of mobile phones generally more public attention should be drawn to this risk."
Judge Cohen did not give Ciach the maximum sentence however, taking into account that Anthony Marsh's parents did not want Ciach jailed, as well as her guilty plea and her good character. Ciach was disqualified from driving for two years, which means she will be allowed to drive again in January 2004.
Source: The Age