Sonoma Family Of 4 Killed By Speeding Driver

[ailsagirl]

http://cbs5.com/local/Sonoma.family.of.2.1339208.html

Since the article was posted, the 19-year-old driver has died.

I drove through that very intersection earlier that day-- really
unbelievable and so pointless.

:cry:

[mackerel]

1. I just don't get it? What's the hurry?

The family was returning from a holiday in Hawaii. On the news they said the whole neighborhood was devastated. At least they had the last vacation together.

They haven't released the blood alcohol of the 19 year old but I do wonder.

[Auggie]

2. The state needs major upgrades to east/west routes connecting

80 to 101 -- population has grown considerably without any major change. Highway 12 from Cordelia to Sonoma is another very dangerous road.

[ailsagirl]

5. This state needs a LOT of things... did you know

that California rates number one as far as number of traffic fatalities goes?
Followed by Florida and Texas.

This link only shows up through 2007 but you can see the trend has held steady

http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/countyaccidents.asp

[alp227]

3. The 19-year-old driver once had a DUI and suspension of license. He was a race enthusiast

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/30/BAUB1ASM2U.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

[ailsagirl]

4. He must have been drunk...

There are witnesses who saw him at a bar earlier in the evening,
then observed him driving like a maniac afterwards...

http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20091201/COMMUNITY/912019912/1362/COMMUNITY01?Title=CHP-probes-whether-driver-was-drinking-before-fatal-crash

I just don't get it. Was he trying to commit suicide?? If so, why
involve innocent people?? Or was he too far gone to even think of
the fact that others might be killed??

[mackerel]

6. Was he only 19? And drinking at a bar?

[ailsagirl]

8. I don't know absolutely...

but the link I posted said that he was seen drinking at a bar.
And, if that's the case, obviously it opens up a whole new can
of worms.

[Auggie]

7. AND: Couple arrested for ransacking family's home

After John and Susan Maloney and their two young children died in a crash on Highway 37, news crews flocked to their street in Sonoma. A memorial of flowers sprung up on their doorstep, and pictures of their three-bedroom home were featured on TV.

Among those who followed the story, authorities believe, were a Redwood City man with a history of grand theft and his girlfriend.

Smelling opportunity, the couple drove 70 miles to Sonoma, broke into the dead family's empty house, ransacked it of jewelry, electronics and financial records and drove off in the Maloneys' 2006 Nissan 350Z, police said Wednesday.

Michael Vincent Gutierrez, 26, and his girlfriend, Amber Marie True, 29, were arrested Tuesday, just hours after a neighbor discovered the garage door to the Maloneys' home wide open.

READ MORE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/03/BAOG1ATQCT.DTL

The suspected scumbags:

[ailsagirl]

9. The whole thing is just so unbelievable