I knew Cindy Combs. I rode with her and her husband, Dave. They rode tens of thousands of miles on their tandem bike commuting, running errands, and joining area cyclists on the “Tuesday Night Ride.”
So when I heard that the only charges Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz brought against the man who drove his car into the Combses on March 7, killing Cindy and critically injuring Dave, were those of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and unsafe overtaking of a bicycle, both of which only carry a $1,000 fine and possible license revocation, I was outraged.
This was not the first time Rietz had brought minimal charges in a fatal cycling accident. In 2006, cyclist Matt Wilhelm was killed when a motorist veered into him while downloading a ringtone for her cell phone. Rietz charged the driver with improper lane usage, which also carried a $1,000 fine.
I cannot help but wonder why she didn’t push for more in the Combs case? Had the case gone to trial it would have been hard to have found more sympathetic victims for a jury than an intellectually disabled couple, and Cindy, who was blind, depended on Dave to navigate everyday life. Biking wasn’t simply recreational for the Combses, it was transportation and most importantly, independence.
Why these paltry charges after pursuing a felony conviction last year for a man who repeatedly drove into, but did not seriously injure, members of a local race team and fled the scene? To be fair, the case involved malicious behavior and was not accidental in nature. However, it still took media pressure for Rietz to act.
Four years ago, Rietz garnered headlines for proposing legislation to create the offense of Negligent Vehicular Homicide. However the legislation was defeated in the Illinois Senate. She claims that without such a law she cannot bring tougher charges. She has stated repeatedly that such pursuit requires proof of a “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”
Yet this did not stop her colleague in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s from charging and convicting a driver of reckless homicide for killing a motorcyclist while polishing her fingernails behind the wheel just last year. Why? Jury instructions in these cases mandate proof of “a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.” In Lake County, a jury agreed with the State’s Attorney that the driver had not used care.
However, Rietz has never asked a jury to determine what constitutes care in Champaign County. And, she, herself, believes that looking away from the road is not reckless. This, despite decades of driver’s education instructors’ universal admonitions, “Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel.”
Further, Rietz seems to ignore the underlying principle of traffic law, that of absolute liability. When you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, you are responsible for your actions whether you intended to cause harm or not. Thus, if a pedestrian steps off a curb and you drive over his or her foot, you are responsible. If there is ice on the road and you rear-end the vehicle in front of you, you are still responsible. And, if you exceed the speed limit or fail to stop at a stop sign, you are responsible.
In looking at her decisions in cycling cases, it would appear that Rietz is willing to let Champaign County motorists off with a slap on the wrist for vehicular homicide until she gets her law. However, that law isn’t likely to pass with State Representatives like Chapin Rose in opposition, her fellow State’s Attorneys not supporting her, and the fact that the state’s motor vehicle code already has been amended to provide protection to “vulnerable users” (read those not surrounded by several tons of steel) on Illinois road ways.
But it’s not just cycling cases that Rietz is undercharging. She also has a history of undercharging in some motor vehicle and burglary cases. While undercharging keeps cases out of the courtroom, ultimately we have to ask whether employing this practice to keep the wheels of justice moving actually serves justice? And, whether we prefer the State’s Attorney’s office to define recklessness for us?
Since Rietz is not giving us the opportunity to decide the latter as members of juries, perhaps it’s time we elect someone who will.