Speak up against Telban!!

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
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I highly HIGHLY encourage Every member speak out against the verdict. Go to the link below, and at the bottom of the article, there is a link where you can post a comment on Democrat and Chronicle about the verdict. Sign up, choose a username and password, and let the news, media, and every reader what a disgrace this is to the fallen rider’s family and evey fellow biker alike . .

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070502/NEWS01/70502025

For any bikers here, please forward this to any and all bike forums you are on. Members of Rochester’s SFX has already started posting. This will not change what happened, but voices WILL be heard.

To catch everyone up to date, an off duty officer was leaving a bar with an alcohol level of .24 percent, 3 times the legal limit, when he pulled in front of a motorcyclist and killed him. Telban 's verdict was today, where he was found not guilty and blamed it on a fucking mailbox blocking his view. What a disgrace. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

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not guilty…
wow… that is a fucking disgrace.
if it was anyone else, hello vehicular manslaughter on top of dui/dwi charges…
i find this really fucked up…

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Considering how many people get the book thrown at them even with much lesser BAC levels this just seems wrong.

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bet he loses big time in civil court

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A court-ordered test showed that [cop]’s blood-alcohol content was 0.24 percent…he cited testimony by a defense expert that [biker] was traveling at 65 mph in a 40 mph zone and [cop]’s view of the road as he left the country club was blocked by a mailbox…“This was a horribly tragic crash that could have taken place without regard to the intoxication of either of the drivers."

Yeah, or the fucker couldn’t see straight with the equivalent of a 12 pack in 1 hour in his system.

Ruling after a non-jury trial requested by Telban, County Court Judge John J. Connell said he found insufficient evidence that Telban was guilty of a felony charge of second-degree vehicular manslaughter.

Patronage much?

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During the trial last week, Damelio, conceded that Telban had been drinking. But he cited testimony by a defense expert that Volkmuth was traveling at 65 mph in a 40 mph zone and Telban’s view of the road as he left the country club was blocked by a mailbox.

“The manner of his (Telban) pulling out of the driveway did not significantly forge a link in the chain of causes which brought about the death of Mr. Volkmuth,” Connell said in a written decision.

“The excessive speed of the motorcycle in conjunction with the curvature of the road in the area that the cycle made multiple lane changes, prevented Mr. Volkmuth from stopping or avoiding the fatal collision with the defendant’s vehicle.

Without being in court and hearing the entire trial, I can’t really make a decision either way. The former deputy shouldn’t have been drunk, the biker shouldn’t have been doing 25 over the speed limit, in a 40 zone around a corner no less.

Look at it this way. Say the deputy was stone cold sober, and did the same thing. Is it vehicular manslaughter when the biker was that much over the speed limit? At 40, could he have stopped, avoided the crash, or simply lessened the crash to the point of it not being fatal?

Maybe it’s that I spent 2 years in a pre-law curriculum that I tend to look at cases like this from multiple angles.

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JayS, I understand looking at it from both sides. On a bike, you can stop in a fairly short distance in comparison to a car. You’re stalking about 700 pounds at most with the rider. That was never argued in court, as the key evidence in his defense was “a mailbox blocking his view”.

If anyone, absolutley anyone can find any case of a fatal crash occurring where a drunk driver and motorcyclist was involved, and the drunk driver walking away a free man, then a point will be made.

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I hope one of his kids gets killed by a drunk driver so he knows how it feels

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[quote=“JayS,post:6,topic:28675"”]

Look at it this way. Say the deputy was stone cold sober, and did the same thing. Is it vehicular manslaughter when the biker was that much over the speed limit? At 40, could he have stopped, avoided the crash, or simply lessened the crash to the point of it not being fatal?

[/quote]

But given the circumstance, the two obvious facts of the case are contributory. The cop was drunk, the rider was going 25 over… he should still be at fault some how, some way, if you want to put the blame on the rider. The cop was negligent by failing to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.

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I have my motorcycle license, rode a bike for several years. I’m well aware of their stopping ability. I’m also aware that stopping from 60, on a curve, is much more difficult than stopping from 45.

And regardless of your ability to stop, you coming out of nowhere at 25 more than the speed limit greatly reduces the ability for someone to see you coming. The area is a 45 for a reason, probably the curves and the number of places cars can pull out from.

And he didn’t walk away a free man, he was convicted of the DWI.

But like I said, we’re all speculating. Were you there for testimony about the accident reconstruction? Have you seen the view from that parking lot looking through the mailbox? How sharp is that curve? How close is it to where the car pulled out from? What time of day was it? Was it a clear, raining, overcast?

The news gives people just enough info for them to come to the conclusion that makes it a story.

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[quote=“JayS,post:10,topic:28675"”]

I have my motorcycle license, rode a bike for several years. I’m well aware of their stopping ability. I’m also aware that stopping from 60, on a curve, is much more difficult than stopping from 45.

And regardless of your ability to stop, you coming out of nowhere at 25 more than the speed limit greatly reduces the ability for someone to see you coming. The area is a 45 for a reason, probably the curves and the number of places cars can pull out from.

And he didn’t walk away a free man, he was convicted of the DWI.

But like I said, we’re all speculating. Were you there for testimony about the accident reconstruction? Have you seen the view from that parking lot looking through the mailbox? How sharp is that curve? How close is it to where the car pulled out from? What time of day was it? Was it a clear, raining, overcast?

The news gives people just enough info for them to come to the conclusion that makes it a story.

[/quote]

I’m not shitting you, I can tell you the exact address of where this occured. It’s on the route to get to my parents house to Hamlin,NY. I’ve personally passed this place hundres of times. Regardless of time/day/speed or weather, as the assistant DA pointed out, it would not matter if the bike was traveling at 100 mph, Mr. Telban had an obligation to give it the right of way. If his judgment were not impaired he most likely would have taken the extra time to make sure the road was clear. As a trained officer, he should recognize the signs of intoxication and inability to operate a vehicle more than any other driver on the road.

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A “defense expert” claimed the biker was doing 65 in a 40. How accurate do you think that is?

The cop was acquitted based on speculation that the biker may have been going too fast, and claiming that a “mailbox” was blocking his vision. His blood alcohol level shows that he was drunk almost to the point ofpassing out, yet the judge ruled that a mailbox was the biggest obstruction to his vision?

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Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t a similar situation near Alden when a couple ran a stop sign and got hit by someone twice over the legal Blood alcohol limit get convicted of manslaughter even though he was going the speed limit.

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Oh, and yeah that’s some fucking curve.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/BikerFry/untitled-2.jpg
untitled-2.jpg687×505

:bloated:

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My dick has more of a curve than that. How the fuck…

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Yeah, that’s not much of a curve. Speed estimations by crash reconstruction experts are very accurate though.

Another question, where did the bike hit the car? In the side, as in it pulled out right in front of the bike, or in the rear, as in it had fully pulled out and was already pulling away.

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[quote=“Schema,post:11,topic:28675"”]

I’m not shitting you, I can tell you the exact address of where this occured. It’s on the route to get to my parents house to Hamlin,NY. I’ve personally passed this place hundres of times. Regardless of time/day/speed or weather, as the assistant DA pointed out, it would not matter if the bike was traveling at 100 mph, Mr. Telban had an obligation to give it the right of way. If his judgment were not impaired he most likely would have taken the extra time to make sure the road was clear. As a trained officer, he should recognize the signs of intoxication and inability to operate a vehicle more than any other driver on the road.

[/quote]

well said

thats not a curve and did the cop have his head IN the mailbox to obstruct his view?