Wear your seat belt!

[davinci]

This is tragic.  


16-year-old son charged in crash that killed his family

Michael and Trudi Hardman had always talked about taking their six children to Disney World, and just a week before Thanksgiving, it seemed their "dream trip" was to be a reality.



But just a little more than three hours after they took to the road Wednesday night, their SUV veered off a highway and rolled over in Louisiana, killing them and three of the kids.



Police believe the couple's 16-year-old son apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of the SUV en route from Terrell, Texas, to Orlando.



The driver, who was not identified, was charged with reckless operation of a vehicle following the 11pm crash on Interstate 20 near Calhoun, Louisiana, state police spokesman Michael Reichardt said.



Michael Hardman's brother, Timothy Hardman, said the driver and two passengers were injured, one critically.



The teen driver veered left onto the median and then tried to get back onto the highway but overcorrected, causing the 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe to roll over, police said.



Michael and Trudi Hardman were both primary-school teachers from Terrell, Texas. Also killed were sons Dakota Watson, 15, and Adam Hardman, 7; and daughter Kaci Hardman, four, police said.



None of those killed wore seat belts but the driver did, officials said.

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[Cowboyz]

Definitely tragic!

He's being charged? The death of five family members isn't punishment enough? Maybe all of the details have yet to surface but it didn't sound like he did anything reckless to cause the accident.

[aboutwell]

Previous versions of this story erroneously reported the charge against the driver. The driver was cited with careless operation, a misdemeanor, not reckless operation of a vehicle, which is a felony.

[aponderer]

I suppose it depends on the wording in the law, but IMHO driving while tired or sleepy enough to fall asleep at the wheel is reckless driving, especially if there are passengers in the car.

[Evil Yoda]

Nov 22, 2014 4:40:24 GMT -5 aponderer said:

I suppose it depends on the wording in the law, but IMHO driving while tired or sleepy enough to fall asleep at the wheel is reckless driving, especially if there are passengers in the car.

Correct. It is a serious error in judgement. However, his parents should have had his back, verifying that he was okay to drive. Teens don't have good judgement; that part of the brain hasn't finished growing.

[husagafella]

Nov 22, 2014 12:51:32 GMT -5 Evil Yoda said:

Nov 22, 2014 4:40:24 GMT -5 aponderer said:

I suppose it depends on the wording in the law, but IMHO driving while tired or sleepy enough to fall asleep at the wheel is reckless driving, especially if there are passengers in the car.

Correct. It is a serious error in judgement. However, his parents should have had his back, verifying that he was okay to drive. Teens don't have good judgement; that part of the brain hasn't finished growing.

.

[aponderer]

Nov 22, 2014 12:51:32 GMT -5 Evil Yoda said:

Nov 22, 2014 4:40:24 GMT -5 aponderer said:

I suppose it depends on the wording in the law, but IMHO driving while tired or sleepy enough to fall asleep at the wheel is reckless driving, especially if there are passengers in the car.

Correct. It is a serious error in judgement. However, his parents should have had his back, verifying that he was okay to drive. Teens don't have good judgement; that part of the brain hasn't finished growing.

I also wonder if the 16-year old driver was driving on a learner's permit...  That should require the adult who is supervising the driver to be awake, also.

[towsongirl]

My problem is with a 16-year-old being allowed to be behind the wheel of the family SUV at 11:30 at night. If you want the kid to have highway driving experience, fine, do it during the day when everyone in the car isn't sleeping.

[Ravenchamp]

way to young to allow that age driver out that late.

[Deleted]

I'd like to know what the driver and the parents were doing the previous 12 hours before the accident. 11:00pm is not that late especially for a 16 year old.