Virginia Freedom Riders :: Freedom Forums

GirlGeek · Rider Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Delaware

In 2003, the Delaware General Assembly passed House Bill 190 (as amended), also known as “The Warren G.H. Pritchett Act” which amended the Delaware Code to the effect that the operation of a vehicle causing death (“death by motor vehicle”), on the first offense, would carry a fine of not more than $1,150 and no more than 30 months in jail.

While not perfect, the penalties are more severe than most.

Warren Pritchett was riding his bicycle and was plowed into a tow truck. He was thrown over 100 ft before landing on the side of the road. His family, amidst their grief, were shocked to find that the penalties that applied to the driver were minimal at best. They fought a long and hard battle to get this law passed.

There are two peripheral issues that I will not deal with here. The first is the issue of whether or not the penalties are actually applied. It depends on the judge. The second is the fact that the law deals only with death, and not severe injuries. That is another battle.

Delaware is now in the somewhat unique position, from a biker rights standpoint, to have to counter the constitutional challenges to this law. There are 14 cases currently in legal limbo due to the fact that defense attorneys are asking the State Supreme Court to decide if the law is constitutional.

One of these cases is that of Chris Russ, a motorcyclist who was killed in May of this year. The driver was charged with both failure to yield right-of-way as well as death by motor vehicle. His wife posted the following in a discussion forum (unedited):

“my name is amy russ. i am the wife of christopher russ who was killed may 25 2007 while riding home from work on his motorcycle. he was traveling in the left hand lane on philadelphia pike at the speed limit and wearing a helmet when a driver of a van entered the roadway from the wachovia bank parking lot. the driver admitted to seeing my husband but thought he had enough time so continued to enter the roadway and then stopped blocking the entire northbound lanes and even partially the one southbound lane. my husband had no time to react ,if he went left he would have hit head on southbound traffic there was a car to his right he had no where to go and literally a second to react. he chose to lay the bike down which subsequently led to his death from multiple injuries. the driver of the van was charge 41.00 for not yielding the right of way and operation of a vehicle while causing a death. the police after a 2 and a half month long investigation obviously felt this charge was warranted, now that charge is on hold pending a supreme court decision
i am not a malicious vengeful person nor was my husband but myself and my family have suffered a tremendous loss. we are the victims and the ones who suffer everyday. how would you feel had it been one of your family members? a 41.00 fine for losing my husband is unacceptable. i was raised that mistakes or not there are consequences that come with those actions. i am not accusing this man of murder but it was broad daylight and there were no obstructions and he admitted he saw him. when driving you are responsible for that vehicle and obeying traffic laws and to think that this man drives for a living and he still has a license is absurd. he deserves some sort of punishment. my husbands life is worth more than 41.00. wheres the justice? if you agree with this please sign my petition at www.chrisruss.net. any families who are affected by this same situation please contact me through the above web site. accidents are one thing but pure negigence is another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Chris’ story can be found at: http://www.chrisruss.net.

The challenge to the constitutionality of the Delaware law rests heavily on the issue of need for a “criminal mind-set”. There have been two conflicting rulings, which is prompting the need to go to the Delaware Supreme Court.

We are in the process of doing research and gather support, both from the biker and non-biker community to ensure that this portion of the Delaware Code remains. There is much more work to be done.
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GirlGeek
Delaware Freedom Riders