Letter: Carelessness on Nevada’s roads must be punished

Thursday, April 22, 2004 | 8:43 a.m.

On Feb.13, Foster F. Tusing was killed after the pickup truck he was driving was struck by a teenager who ran her car through a stop sign without applying the brakes. The accident happened at the intersection of Ann and Fort Apache roads.

We were deeply shocked when informed by Metro Police that the teenager would be cited/charged with "failure to stop at a stop sign." This misdemeanor traffic violation amounts to a legalized killing. Where is the responsibility beyond the proverbial slap on the wrist?

District Attorney David Roger stated that if a person commits a blatant traffic violation and is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Nevada does not have a law for vehicular manslaughter/homicide or involuntary manslaughter. Current law only allows a person to be cited/charged with a minor traffic violation for killing another human being. What an injustice to Nevada residents.

We, as saddened and heartbroken citizens, request and demand that traffic laws be changed to make persons responsible for the killing of another human being accidentally, while they deliberately disobey our traffic laws.

In the past year many people have lost loved ones in this manner. We, as citizens of Nevada, whose family members or loved ones are killed in this manner, want and demand accountability of all of us who get in a vehicle and drive. We need both of these laws to be enacted during the 2005 session of the Legislature.

DAVID A. DALLATORE