Another Update on the Coble Family

LISmama810 · Aug 22, 2008

Many of you remember the tragic case of the Coble family, whose three children were killed when a big-rig smashed into the back of their minivan about a year and a half ago.

The driver of the truck has pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter, and it looks like he'll get a year in prison.

Here's the article in case anyone's interested: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/coble-children-romero-2133452-lori-three

celtic1885 · Aug 22, 2008

Unbelievable that if the plea bargain is accepted he'll only serve 1 year!

Judi · Aug 22, 2008

That is what I was thinking.

LISmama810 · Aug 22, 2008

I put in and then deleted the "eye rolling" smiley about five times in my OP. I decided it was better not to taint it with my bias. But what the heck.

rosey2007 · Aug 22, 2008

What a horrible story! My husband was a over the road truck driver and so we know how easily things like this can take place. This is what my husband fears the most.

Defrost · Aug 23, 2008

I'd like to think he made this choice in order to save the parents more pain - a long, drawn-out court battle would be so hard on them. I hope that's what he's thinking, at least.

LISmama810 · Aug 23, 2008

Defrost said:
I'd like to think he made this choice in order to save the parents more pain - a long, drawn-out court battle would be so hard on them. I hope that's what he's thinking, at least.

I think he did. There were earlier reports about how he felt understandably horrible about it. I'm just surprised that even with a plea deal, the penalty seems SO low. But, it is what it is.

mommyto2angelgirls · Aug 23, 2008

wow forget that giuy the punishment is never severe enough for what he took. but did you read the end she got pregnant with triplets...two girls and a boy. thats devine intervention right there i think. they must be amazing people and she is an amazing women to be strong enough to carry on.

MsFacetious · Aug 23, 2008

They did invetro and transferred all 3 intentionally.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chris-coble-lori-1917434-three-cobles

http://cbs2.com/local/Coble.Family.Triplets.2.713781.html

mommyto2angelgirls said:
but did you read the end she got pregnant with triplets...two girls and a boy. thats devine intervention right there i think. they must be amazing people and she is an amazing women to be strong enough to carry on.

kaylee18 · Aug 23, 2008

Transferred 3 embryos - thank you! It's a very common error to see the term "implanted" used mistakenly, but embryos implant (or fail to implant) all on their own.

TerisBoys · Aug 23, 2008

rosey2007 said:
What a horrible story! My husband was a over the road truck driver and so we know how easily things like this can take place. This is what my husband fears the most.

It's Brian's worst nightmare too. I'm on pins and needles most of the winter - he runs 80/90 frequently and there are TONS of wrecks involving semis. He knows to call home every night or I'll freak.

Nisha · Aug 23, 2008

So this guys only "crime" was "driving at an unsafe speed for the traffic conditions that day."? I didn't see any more details than that...
As much as my heart breaks for this family, loosing all their children, and I can't imagine the pain they have delt with, is it really going to make it better if this guy spends his life in prision? Or even 10 years?
Am I the only one who sometimes gets distracted while driving and looks up and realizes someone in front of me has slowed down? I've never rear-ended anyone, but I've never drove a truck that takes considerably longer to stop than my vehicle! I don't know how many times, especially on the interstate that something distracts me and I'm not paying as much attention to the guy in front of me as I should.
I realize this guy was driving fast, but was it within the speed limit?
So do we need to punish him more (can you imagine living with the guilt that you killed somebodys babies?) just so the next trucker might remember to slow it down when driving in heavier traffic? Do you really think the next trucker will remember just because of this guy?

Am I totally out of line feeling this way?

TerisBoys · Aug 23, 2008

Nisha - I doubt it (that the next trucker will remember to slow down because of this one wreck).

They're on deadlines, and they push themselves or their companies push them. How many people can drive 2000+ miles a week, week after week?

A fully loaded tractor trailer weighs approximately 80,000#. They don't stop on a dime.

A year in prison might seem like a slap on the wrist. But remember - he's got to live with the fact that he took the lives of those 3 babies for the rest of his life.

Defrost · Aug 23, 2008

Nisha said:
So this guys only "crime" was "driving at an unsafe speed for the traffic conditions that day."? I didn't see any more details than that...
As much as my heart breaks for this family, loosing all their children, and I can't imagine the pain they have delt with, is it really going to make it better if this guy spends his life in prision? Or even 10 years?
Am I the only one who sometimes gets distracted while driving and looks up and realizes someone in front of me has slowed down? I've never rear-ended anyone, but I've never drove a truck that takes considerably longer to stop than my vehicle! I don't know how many times, especially on the interstate that something distracts me and I'm not paying as much attention to the guy in front of me as I should.
I realize this guy was driving fast, but was it within the speed limit?
So do we need to punish him more (can you imagine living with the guilt that you killed somebodys babies?) just so the next trucker might remember to slow it down when driving in heavier traffic? Do you really think the next trucker will remember just because of this guy?

Am I totally out of line feeling this way?

I don't think you are, but I think the facts they're reporting at this time aren't as detailed. From what I read at the time of the accident, he was not just "momentarily distracted." He plowed THROUGH that van, and it was not just randomly stopped on the highway on the other side of a hill or something - it was stopped in traffic. He also had previous violations, as did the company he worked for. This was not a "OMG I made a horrible mistake at the wrong fluke-of-an-instant," it was definitely negligence.

But I agree that putting him in jail for several years doesn't do anyone any good. I'd like to see him get involved in something like training and awareness for truck drivers, or even become a CPST to help keep other kids safe (even though the crash he caused was unsurvivable).

flipper68 · Aug 23, 2008

IIRC, my godparents (distance trucker/transport compnay owner for many years) told me a few years ago that if a driver has a crash, their license is revoked. Or maybe it's that insuring said driver is too costly. Either way, no job, no income.

Anybody have more concrete info?

TerisBoys · Aug 23, 2008

flipper68 said:
IIRC, my godparents (distance trucker/transport compnay owner for many years) told me a few years ago that if a driver has a crash, their license is revoked. Or maybe it's that insuring said driver is too costly. Either way, no job, no income.

Anybody have more concrete info?

I know that if Brian gets a ticket even if he's NOT driving his semi, he could lose his license depending on what the violation is. Another thing that he's told me is that regardless of who's actually "at-fault" in a semi vs passenger vehicle collision, the semi driver is found "at-fault" most of the time because they ARE supposed to be more alert and aware of conditions.

So - if Granny Annie goes out cruising on Sunday and runs a stop sign in front of him, Brian would be at fault for hitting her - even if it can be proven that she blew the stop sign.

LISmama810 · Aug 23, 2008

Nisha said:
So this guys only "crime" was "driving at an unsafe speed for the traffic conditions that day."? I didn't see any more details than that...
...
I realize this guy was driving fast, but was it within the speed limit?

From the article:

Investigators determined Romero was driving at about 60 to 70 mph in a semi-truck, carrying more than 40,000 pounds of electronic equipment

The speed limit on that freeway is 65 mph. The speed limit in California for trucks with three or more axels is 55 mph. And keep in mind that those are MAXIMUMS--not the speed you're automatically allowed to drive no matter what. If you're hauling 40,000 pounds, you'd better make sure you can stop.

Trucks are also required to stay in the two right lanes of a freeway--the "slow" lanes. Sometimes traffic in the rightmost lane is flowing at 70 mph, but usually not. Since that's where people enter and exit (and generally drive more slowly), speeds are usually more like 55.

I drive that stretch of freeway quite often, and that exit is known for jamming up. A big rig driver (up high in a cab) should be able to notice traffic slowing in front of him and should be able to stop if he's driving a safe speed and keeping a safe distance between himself and the car in front of him.

This story hit close to home (literally) because of the proximity, the age of the children, and the fact that my DH responded to the call. No, the driver spending the rest of his life in prison (or 10 years, or 5 years) won't bring the kids back and won't make a difference in the long-run. At the same time, a year seems rather paltry.

jewlsvern · Aug 23, 2008

I myself was involved in 2 accidents (in 1 year) on that same exit area of the freeway when I lived/worked in that area. I was on maternity leave when this accident happened. In fact I was caught in the horrible traffic it produced. My exit was just 2 further down. That exit is often backed up but at different and random times of the day. Both accidents I was involved in were a result of a "sudden" stop of traffic. Visibility is not always the greatest. The rest of the freeway flies but the exit lane often backs up around the time of the accident (school is getting out).

I am not making excuses for what happened but it is very common on this stretch of the highway. Trucks are always flying. Cars are going 70-80+. Yeah, 1 year doesn't seem like much, but this guy is going to have to live with the guilt of what happened every day of his life. It wasn't intentional, but an accident. Everyone thinks it will never happen to them, but this proves it can. I feel for both the Coble's and the driver. It was horrible thing to happen.

Nisha · Aug 23, 2008

LISmama810 said:
From the article:

The speed limit on that freeway is 65 mph. The speed limit in California for trucks with three or more axels is 55 mph. And keep in mind that those are MAXIMUMS--not the speed you're automatically allowed to drive no matter what. If you're hauling 40,000 pounds, you'd better make sure you can stop.

Trucks are also required to stay in the two right lanes of a freeway--the "slow" lanes. Sometimes traffic in the rightmost lane is flowing at 70 mph, but usually not. Since that's where people enter and exit (and generally drive more slowly), speeds are usually more like 55.

I drive that stretch of freeway quite often, and that exit is known for jamming up. A big rig driver (up high in a cab) should be able to notice traffic slowing in front of him and should be able to stop if he's driving a safe speed and keeping a safe distance between himself and the car in front of him.

This story hit close to home (literally) because of the proximity, the age of the children, and the fact that my DH responded to the call. No, the driver spending the rest of his life in prison (or 10 years, or 5 years) won't bring the kids back and won't make a difference in the long-run. At the same time, a year seems rather paltry.

Thanks for that bit of info. I wasn't sure about the speed limits since I don't live in or anywhere near a city and don't know CA laws.

Regardless it's a terrible thing to happen to both parties!

shellebelle · Aug 23, 2008

Defrost said:
He plowed THROUGH that van, and it was not just randomly stopped on the highway on the other side of a hill or something - it was stopped in traffic.

I saw that van and the semi was all the way through it to the second row of seats. IIRC the van was pushed into at least one other car in front of it, so we're talking about some force here

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