Family of 4 killed by wrong-way driver

[Tuvok Obama]

Source: CNN

A family of four is dead after a man driving the wrong way on an interstate highway in Idaho slammed into them head-on, authorities said.

Amado Herrera, 48, of California, was driving west on Interstate 84 near Glenns Ferry, Idaho, with three passengers when a pickup truck slammed into them Thursday night, Idaho State Police said.

Eusebio Jacobo Pineda, 45, was driving his Ford F-150 the wrong way on the highway shortly before 8:50 p.m. when he hit Herrera's Nissan four-door, police said.

Herrera and his passengers died instantly. Pineda was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/13/idaho.wreck.family.killed/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

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One problem with DU's 4-paragraph rule is that the continuing trend in mainstream new reporting leans toward one- and two-sentence paragraphs. It's very hard to choose just a handful of sentences to quote from an article like this.

Anyway, the article goes on to say that the Herrera children were 9 and 18 years old, and that all four of the Herreras were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.

[liberal N proud]

1. With all the signs warning you that you are going the wrong way

you would think this sort of thing wouldn't happen.

People must incoherent or drunk when they do this.

[Tuvok Obama]

3. Remember movie drive-in theater exits? "Don't back up! Severe tire damage!"

That might be a good idea for any one-way highway or freeway.

[Better Today]

6. No, because then if they needed to clear the road, because of an

accident, they wouldn't be able to, no one could back up or get off the freeway. Perhaps on the on and off ramps, but even then, what if you needed to back up a tad and move to the other lane? Just not the same as a movie.

[activa8tr]

7. I'm trying to understand your point, and the logic behind it.

If the car entered the highway going the wrong way, why NOT have one-way spikes than can be lowered in emergency situation?

If you are worried about having cars be able to access a freeway the wrong way in some unusual situation, like a flood, hurricane, tornado, forest fire, whatever...making the freeway one way in ALL lanes...then simply have cops go and LOWER the spikes or do it by remote control from a police station or police car or fire truck?

[Better Today]

9. Fair enough, if they can be retracted. The ones at the old drive-ins couldn't be

if I recall correctly. Then the only issue is whether an emergency happens and things need to move before the police arrive or are appropriately alerted.

[activa8tr]

17. Thanks. I have been to some places like car rental lots in Philly and

Florida... you can't go in the wrong way, and they won't let you exit the place without showing you actually have the rental agreement all legal and stuff.

This is to prevent car thefts, obviously... but it's quite possible to install these spikes in a way to move them up or down, one-way or the other.

[valerief]

10. I'll put twenty on drunk driving. nt

[roguevalley]

13. my sister-in-law's brother died this way driving on the wrong lane

because he was new to the area and it was so dark he couldn't see otherwise.

[Jim__]

2. Or on their fucking cell phone.

I always look now when someone just drifts into my lane. Almost always the driver is on a hand-held cell phone.

[kath]

15. yep, that's almost always the case. I think that cars need to have a device installed that blocks

all cell phone reception while the vehicle is moving.

[Travis_0004]

18. How would you accomplish this? Also, is it not possible for there to be passengers in a vehicle.

Any passenger could use a cell phone without distracting the driver.

[kath]

23. No one NEEDS to use a cell phone in a moving vehicle.

Everyone survived just fine without them for decades and decades and decades. Only a teeny portion of the population needs to be immediately reachable 24/7.

[tblue37]

21. Same with those doing 30 in a 45 or higher zone.

Always they are messing with their cell phones.

[Warpy]

4. The drunk always survives, damn their eyes.

This is the typical sort of accident we see here in NM, who families wiped out by some damned drunk going 90 miles an hour the wrong way on an Interstate, oblivious to all the people going off the road, flashing lights, and blasting their horns at him to wake him the fuck up.

You can bet this guy was loaded on something.

Either we have to start taking DUI more seriously with long sentences for treatment during incarceration, or we keep doing what we're doing, making driving the interstates out west an experience in terror because you just never know when one of these assholes will leave a bar and go up an exit ramp.

[grace0418]

8. There's a strange video attached to the article. There is no commentary but at the end

the camera focuses on a beer bottle next to the truck's wreckage. I'm guessing he was drunk. And instead of killing himself with his irresponsible behavior, he killed a family of four. :mad:

[Better Today]

5. Just a note to the OP, the four paragraph rule doesn't disallow you

stating what else you find interesting about an article. Post a few paragraphs and then in your comments, add whatever you desire, for example you might comment as to drunken drivers or whatever, as you seem to have done briefly at the end. The four paragraph rule has to do with copyrights not just DU's preferences.

Again, only reading what you posted, though, I'm always surprised about stuff like this. Unless Herrera was not paying any attention at all, didn't he notice that a vehicle was coming at him? I mean perhaps in rush hour or something similar where there is no way to maneuver out of the way, but I'd sure rather head for the median than be hit head on. In NO WAY is this consideration meant as an apology for Pineda, he's clearly at fault and it is horrendous. Just that this seems to happen somewhere in the US every six months or so, and each time I have to wonder why someone didn't get out of the way.

[pipi_k]

20. I had this happen to me one time on an interstate...

Driving home from work one night in the southbound lanes...there's a pair of headlights coming at me that should be in the northbound lanes separated by a median probably 20 or so feet wide.

The first thing to go through my head was...wow. That cannot be what I think it is!!! I mean, I just didn't believe it, for a while kept driving, thinking I must be seeing shit. Luckily I hardly ever drive in the fast lane, which was where this fool was, so he passed right by me on my left side.

Even after actually seeing it, I still sort of didn't believe it happened.

Maybe this is what happens to people when they don't respond as quickly as we think they might have...

:shrug:

[greiner3]

11. If only Amado was carrying a gun!

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. "One problem with DU's 4-paragraph rule"

Actually, that's the point of the rule. In exchange for giving us a bit of their property, we drive readers to their web site. It's not a bad deal, all things considered.

[kath]

14. Re: the 4 paragraph rule -- I agree that the use of 1- and 2-sentence "paragraphs" is ridiculous.

Do what I do -- get rid of many of the paragraph breaks so that it looks like you have 4 paragraphs that consist of 6 or so sentences, like how normal people write. No one's going to go back to the original story and make sure that you did the paragraphing the way the stoopid "journalist" did.

[frebrd]

16. Damn shame he didn't kill himself as well........

might have saved someone else's life later.

[taylorwooo]

19. um, wow,

of course pineda would be the only one living, when hes the one who started it all!

[revolution breeze]

22. Lost a very dear friend and her family in July

The semi crossed the median and hit the truck head on, killing Jeanne, her husband, son and son-in-law. Charges were pressed against the driver and the investigation is still open. Yes, a cell phone was believed to be involved.

[Edweird]

24. "Alcohol is a contributing factor in the crash". The DUIs seem to make it out alive far too often.

IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE
Region 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford, Meridian 83642
[phone]
Fax [phone]


For Immediate Release: 08/13/2010 2:00 pm
Contact: Sgt. Stauffer

Follow-up Press Release to Fatal Crash on I84 at milepost 120 that occurred on August 12, 2010 at approximately 8:49 pm.

After further investigation, an arrest warrant was obtained for Eusebio Jacobo Pineda, 45, charging him with four counts of Felony Vehicular Manslaughter. Pineda will be taken into custody by the Idaho State Police as soon as he is medically cleared. He will be transported to the Elmore County Jail to await an initial appearance before a magistrate. Pineda's bond was set at $250,000.00.

Alcohol is a contributing factor in the crash; however Pineda's blood alcohol content is pending final analysis.

Because of numerous media requests, there will be a press conference held today at 3:00 pm in the Idaho State Police Region 3 Multi-purpose Room. Limited information will be available, along with a short question/answer session. Any media wishing to attend should be present at this time. No further press releases are scheduled at this time.




http://idahostatepolice.blogspot.com/