Woman Charged With Murder After Driving Drunk Into a Party, Killing 2 Children

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The woman in this case could have had myriad reasons for behaviors which resulted in this unfortunate circumstance.

Don’t rush to judgement here.

GTFO. She drove drunk.

It doesn't matter WHAT caused her drive drunk. She did and she killed 2 kids. Periodt.

I have an alcoholic sibling with multiple DUIs. He is currently going through his 4th or 5th (two were back-to-back & bundled together, so not sure how the court counts them now) DUI court process. You know the ONLY thing that has kept him from driving drunk during the years between his DUI arrests? The court-ordered breathalyzer system in his car. Unfortunately, it's not something that the court requires permanently because they require a lot of maintenance. When he has one, he has to go monthly to one of two shops in the area who is authorized to calibrate and download the data.

How the DUI process in VA goes...
1. arrest & immediate loss of license for 60 days
2. license is returned & they're usually driving again before their court case because the cases are always continued, continued, continued (that's how he got a back-to-back DUI)
3. almost a year passes (or in some cases, a full year) and the case gets pled down because the police almost always fk up something during the arrest to get evidence thrown out
4. slap on the wrist is given... fine, jail time with all of it suspended, supervised probation, loss of license for 3 years but allowed to apply for a provisional license. If they wait out the full 3 years, they can get their license back without ever having to have the breathalyzer installed. If they apply for a provisional license & are approved (and they always are), they have to get the breathalyzer installed and are restricted to only driving to & from work, doctor's appointments, church, and probation check ins.

Then, in my brother's case, he'll do great for a few years after the breathalyzer is removed from his vehicle. No drinking and driving at all. Then he'll slowly start... 1 beer at dinner and driving home. 2 beers while watching a game & driving home. Until he ramps back up to getting super drunk & driving again and then he gets caught and the process starts all over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please have some empathy for this woman. She is a victim of alcoholism and will live with this mistake for the rest of her life.

We need to turn an eye to automobile manufacturers. It is 2024 for Heaven’s sake. We have drones that can fly across the world without human input yet can’t solve the issue of pedestrian safety.

We need to hold automobile manufacturers accountable. They must be forced to improve safety features to prevent such tragedies otherwise be held accountable legally.

Oh F this so hard.

Drunks don't have to drive. This awful human decided to use her vehicle as a weapon - she could have stayed home with her alcoholism. I'm so, so tired of people going soft on drunk drivers! It's 100% a choice!

Childish insults and vulgar language are the hallmarks of a weak or nonexistent argument.

Driving while drunk kills people - so yeah, the argument of those dead kids is nonexistent.

Get the F out of here, you miserable selfish drunk.

[Anonymous]

Wine mommies must unite to defeat the patriarchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s been having epileptic type seizures for 5 months, she’s on an anti seizure medication, she chose to mix wine with that medication and then drive. That’s all per her defense attorney. In the eyes of the law she’s presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and that’s fine, but there’s no reason why the rest of us need to reserve our judgment. She made very poor choices and killed and maimed people as a result.

Generally speaking, people who have seizures lose their driving privileges until they are seizure free for a year. My niece has had epilepsy since she was a toddler and had a single year when she became able to drive after brain surgery, later her seizures resumed.

As for the alcohol, withdrawal from alcohol tends to decrease the seizure threshold. Hard to make an across the board statement about drinking and epilepsy meds as such though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s been having epileptic type seizures for 5 months, she’s on an anti seizure medication, she chose to mix wine with that medication and then drive. That’s all per her defense attorney. In the eyes of the law she’s presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and that’s fine, but there’s no reason why the rest of us need to reserve our judgment. She made very poor choices and killed and maimed people as a result.

Generally speaking, people who have seizures lose their driving privileges until they are seizure free for a year. My niece has had epilepsy since she was a toddler and had a single year when she became able to drive after brain surgery, later her seizures resumed.

As for the alcohol, withdrawal from alcohol tends to decrease the seizure threshold. Hard to make an across the board statement about drinking and epilepsy meds as such though.

So, apparently it is a medical necessity for her to drink or she will have seizures? What bad luck for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/25/marshella-chidester-posts-bond-after-swan-boat-club-crash-in-monroe/73454736007/

And she's posted bail and is out free after killing 2 kids and putting others in critical condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Judgemental much??

Really, OP. You don’t know the woman. You don’t know what her circumstances were / are.

Who are you to judge her?

100% agree. Could have been virtually any one of us here. The difference between that poor woman and me might only be 3 glasses of wine. No of us here are without fault.

Speak for yourself. I don’t drink at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sickening story. Curious why they are charging the deaths as murder; presumably they'll downgrade unless there is something more going on (like she thought her husband was drinking there, as one witness speculated).

If this wasn't an intentional act, a 66-year old with no criminal history will probably get a relatively light sentence. Sucks for the victims but that's how it goes.

The sentences for DWI never cease to amaze me. Brian Schwartz, rich white man from Columbia Maryland was at a work happy hour with his colleagues who witnessed him downing a more than 6 drinks, left and crashed his Mercedes into a 17 year old black kid Esai López who was riding his bicycle. He left the kid for roadkill rather than call for help, and didn't get charged with DWI because he hit and ran and didn't turn himself in for days by which time his blood alcohol level was back to normal. Despite killing that kid, he served just a few weeks in jail. But Lopez’s family was poor and not able to keep the story in the media.

https://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene...il-after-deadly.html

Disgusting outcome. Some places care more about criminals than innocent victims.

I live near Redland Road and there has been a roadside memorial there all these years since the tragedy. I hope the driver has faced consequences in his life; he’ll always have a criminal record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Judgemental much??

Really, OP. You don’t know the woman. You don’t know what her circumstances were / are.

Who are you to judge her?

100% agree. Could have been virtually any one of us here. The difference between that poor woman and me might only be 3 glasses of wine. No of us here are without fault.

Speak for yourself. I don’t drink at all.

I’m puzzled by the empathy for the driver. I think the PPs are alcoholic themselves, or have loved ones on the throes of the disease. I also don’t imagine they are parents.

There is no excuse for drunk driving. I mean, cold-blooded murderers often had terrible childhoods full of abuse and trauma, but that doesn’t excuse their actions. I can’t imagine a perception of “poor woman” when two children have been killed and a family has been destroyed because she made a terrible choice.

[Anonymous]

Man, I wish I hadn’t opened this thread. It’s going to haunt me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sickening story. Curious why they are charging the deaths as murder; presumably they'll downgrade unless there is something more going on (like she thought her husband was drinking there, as one witness speculated).

If this wasn't an intentional act, a 66-year old with no criminal history will probably get a relatively light sentence. Sucks for the victims but that's how it goes.

The sentences for DWI never cease to amaze me. Brian Schwartz, rich white man from Columbia Maryland was at a work happy hour with his colleagues who witnessed him downing a more than 6 drinks, left and crashed his Mercedes into a 17 year old black kid Esai López who was riding his bicycle. He left the kid for roadkill rather than call for help, and didn't get charged with DWI because he hit and ran and didn't turn himself in for days by which time his blood alcohol level was back to normal. Despite killing that kid, he served just a few weeks in jail. But Lopez’s family was poor and not able to keep the story in the media.

https://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene...il-after-deadly.html

Disgusting outcome. Some places care more about criminals than innocent victims.

I live near Redland Road and there has been a roadside memorial there all these years since the tragedy. I hope the driver has faced consequences in his life; he’ll always have a criminal record.

Ugh, can’t find more than one article about this case. This was a beautiful, very loved 17 year old boy who was left in the road like trash. I hope that driver has nightmares every night. He is not searchable online - must’ve had his presence scrubbed clean.

Brian Schwartz - murderer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The woman in this case could have had myriad reasons for behaviors which resulted in this unfortunate circumstance.

Don’t rush to judgement here.

Yes who amongst us hasn't driven our car straight into a building full of children under the influence of alcohol. Complete accident that could happen to anyone.

Again, you know knowing about her life experiences.

m

Oh F all the way off. You are pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sickening story. Curious why they are charging the deaths as murder; presumably they'll downgrade unless there is something more going on (like she thought her husband was drinking there, as one witness speculated).

If this wasn't an intentional act, a 66-year old with no criminal history will probably get a relatively light sentence. Sucks for the victims but that's how it goes.

The sentences for DWI never cease to amaze me. Brian Schwartz, rich white man from Columbia Maryland was at a work happy hour with his colleagues who witnessed him downing a more than 6 drinks, left and crashed his Mercedes into a 17 year old black kid Esai López who was riding his bicycle. He left the kid for roadkill rather than call for help, and didn't get charged with DWI because he hit and ran and didn't turn himself in for days by which time his blood alcohol level was back to normal. Despite killing that kid, he served just a few weeks in jail. But Lopez’s family was poor and not able to keep the story in the media.

https://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene...il-after-deadly.html

Disgusting outcome. Some places care more about criminals than innocent victims.

I live near Redland Road and there has been a roadside memorial there all these years since the tragedy. I hope the driver has faced consequences in his life; he’ll always have a criminal record.

Ugh, can’t find more than one article about this case. This was a beautiful, very loved 17 year old boy who was left in the road like trash. I hope that driver has nightmares every night. He is not searchable online - must’ve had his presence scrubbed clean.

Brian Schwartz - murderer.

There were articles in the Maryland Gazette at the time...now no longer accessible. But yes, the poor black teen getting left for road kill while the man who killed him got a few weeks in prison did not make much of a splash in the news media of the DMV. I found it vomit inducing then, and very sad more years later. I hope Esai Lopez's family has found peace in the wake of an unimaginable tragedy, and I hope Brian Schwartz got what he deserved after being released from jail far too early, whatever that may be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Judgemental much??

Really, OP. You don’t know the woman. You don’t know what her circumstances were / are.

Who are you to judge her?

100% agree. Could have been virtually any one of us here. The difference between that poor woman and me might only be 3 glasses of wine. No of us here are without fault.

Speak for yourself. I don’t drink at all.

I’m puzzled by the empathy for the driver. I think the PPs are alcoholic themselves, or have loved ones on the throes of the disease. I also don’t imagine they are parents.

There is no excuse for drunk driving. I mean, cold-blooded murderers often had terrible childhoods full of abuse and trauma, but that doesn’t excuse their actions. I can’t imagine a perception of “poor woman” when two children have been killed and a family has been destroyed because she made a terrible choice.

Conservative society painted so-called “criminals” with a ridiculously broad brush for most of history.

However, through a modern and forward-looking lens, we can see they are just human beings and deserve compassion.

In this particular case, the woman was likely just self-medicating, using alcohol. She likely deserved to have whatever trauma she suffered previously to be addressed, but our society stigmatizes mental health deficits and fails to provide enough treatment beds.

[Anonymous]

So-called “criminal justice” is in desperate need of radical reform in the USA

https://www.npr.org/sections/criminal-justice-collaborative