The Ultimate Stupidity: A Cast Member Is Dead

[vixen101485]

Our thots are with those who have lost someone in this totally unecessary incindent.

How horrible, I agree, no excuse is ever enuf when all he had to do was pull over for just a moment to check that book. After all what did truckers (and others for that matter) do before the electronic era, they pulled off the road and wrote stuff down.

[crystal_crtr]

What's truly horrible (other than the loss of lives) is that he didn't even try to stop until it was too late. You can tell by how far away from the red light his vehicle was when it stopped. He probably hit the first car and realized that he needed to stop. That man needs to feel the terror that those people felt as they watched, in their rear view mirrors, his truck barrelling down on their small cars. If he had problems with being distracted than he shouldn't have been driving a truck that size, that can cause that much damage. His company should have been checking on things like that. I was going to go into truck driving but realized that with my ADD I would never be able to control a vehicle that size if I got distracted. It's a wonder I don't end up in accidents everyday.

I'm so sorry that anyone had to feel that kind of pain and terror. My sincere condolences go out to both of the families that lost loved ones. I hope this man does some hard time for what he has caused.

[Big Wallaby]

Not to distract from the tragedy,but 'maybe' the driver was mandated to do do his electronic log. Some companys are so HARDCORE about that shit. :(

(you 'must' be here by 'this' time,OR ELSE!!!)
But all in all,this SUCKS. The driver has to live with this the rest of his life.

I know how companies are, I also know how much work it is to fill out a logbook, and can say unequivocally that it's NOT something to be doing while moving. Then, if the driver is using dual logbooks and other devices that "allow" them to get around the Federal hours limits, it just gets worse from there. If this driver's company is one of those that forces you to go faster than is legal and safe, then I think they deserve to be owned by the families of the ones who lost loved ones.

As long as people don't try to go around the gates, and stop, look and listen at crossings that have no gates or warning devices, train travel is safe. There's a train safety site you should look at: www.oli.org. It's called Operation Lifesaver, and they have statistics on incidents between cars and trains, as well as pedestrians and trains.

Operation Lifesaver is a great program (except the instructor who taught it where I was a school bus driver, but I missed all his classes). I would like to see something like that more for cars road vehicles as well. I really like your train idea... it's much safer, much more fuel efficient, can be much quicker, and it would reduce the number of long-haul trucks that have the strict and overbearing deadlines. While many are good drivers, I would be interested in seeing a terminal system where trains meet trucks and trucks have to go a couple hundred miles, max, with a load.

I will also point out the very recently, Mexico truckers are now allowed to drive in the United States.

Scares me to death.

Driver inattention and fatigue are the biggest reasons for accidents in large trucks.

I know how quickly we moved from Oregon to Florida, and I know some truckers make times not quite as good as ours, but almost... and I know that the only reasons we were able to do it was we were acting as a team and we didn't do it every single day. Driving like that would take its toll quickly.

Addendum: is there a place that we could donate something to help?

I will find out today.

[glendalais]

That's just horrible :( . If you find a Bank Account where we can donate funds to, I'll spread it around over at work.

I just can't believe that he would be paying more attention to some bloody logbook than to the road. Is it that hard to pull over for a second? I mean, this is why we have rest stops along all the major highways.

Hopefully, they revoke his license and keep him off the road for the rest of his life :mad: .

[crystal_crtr]

That's just horrible :( . If you find a Bank Account where we can donate funds to, I'll spread it around over at work.

I just can't believe that he would be paying more attention to some bloody logbook than to the road. Is it that hard to pull over for a second? I mean, this is why we have rest stops along all the major highways.

Hopefully, they revoke his license and keep him off the road for the rest of his life :mad: .

An accident like they usually fire them and no other company will hire them. Those companies take accidents very seriously.The fact that he killed two people should get him jail time also.

[Princess Susi]

Unbelievably sad and heartbreaking. I hope The Powers That Be get that stoplight in there and LOWER the speed limit on that stretch of road. It sounds like that would really help cut down on this sort of thing. The video was clear that the people who live in that area have been lobbying for a stoplight and lower speed, but so far the guvmint has done nothing. That is a crime in itself. My prayers to the families and those who suffered at the hands of this irresponsible driver.
susi

[disneyprincess1988]

Oh Wallaby, I'm so sorry to hear about that. Big hugs from me to you and your fellow CMs at the Safari.

[hhsrat]

PJ is a friend of mine. We worked together, and played together on the KSR softball team, Dual Speed. All around good guy. I had met Heather a few times, but not enough to be able to say I really knew her. Nonetheless, a very sad day.

What I'm getting from other friends that are a bit closer to the families is that Heather's parents are in the process of trying to set up a trust fund. I'll post more information when I get it.

[Big Wallaby]

Good, good. I was asking around about that today. Whoever gets the info first should post it.

How is it like family? Well, you can tell by the amount raised in 2 days from Attractions Africa. They raised $261 and a few cents for a nice floral arrangement at her funeral.

It's been sad for me to think about this. I pray that if my wife and I are ever in an accident where she is killed, that I am taken too. I don't want to live without her. I really feel for PJ today, and I don't really know him that well. I hope I can never relate.

[hhsrat]

Funeral services for Heather are being arranged by the McComas Funeral Home, in Bel Air, MD.

This is from their page ( http://obit.mccomasfuneralhome.com/obit ... ng=Current )


Heather Leigh Hurd
Born in Baltimore, MD on Mar. 10, 1981
Departed on Jan. 3, 2008 and resided in Davenport, FL.

Visitation: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008
Service: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008
Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.

Contributions may be made to the
Heather L. Hurd Memorial Fund
Provident Bank
P.O. Box 1661
Baltimore, MD 21298-9873
to benefit Disney interns.