Last month, I mentioned a case in Massachusetts where one alleged drunk driver plowed into another alleged drunk driver, killing the second guy and injuring his passenger, then fled for home. At the time, I snarked about how “at least no innocents were injured,” as it looked like one drunk driver had kept another one off the road for good.
Well, the dead guy’s family is a bit annoyed. While John F. Comeau III is facing charges of second offense OUI and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, he’s not been charged with vehicular homicide.
While it’s true that the guy he killed had no business being on the road himself, that is irrelevant. Comeau could have killed anyone that night, and he ought to face the harshest charges.
Prosecutors say they haven’t ruled out adding more charges, and good for them. Comeau needs to spend a great deal of quality time as a guest of the Commonwealth, and kept far, far away from steering wheels.
Something else to think on; if the victim had donated to Tom Reilly, we would have never known he was drunk as well.
Comeau’s lawyer could argue that by killing the other drunk driver, he prevented the deceased driver from killing another innocent driver and therefore should be commended for his public service.
Stare decisis: Kennedy vs. the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Kopeckne vs. Kennedy.
This is a matter of settled law: the driver should go free and be required to run for public office.
Don’t worry, he’ll get the harshest penalty that Massachusetts has to offer. All the prosecution has to argue is that while he only killed another drunk driver, that other driver could have been Senator Kennedy. To keep Kennedy safe, the jury will have to send Comeau away for life.