HS Party with Alcohol... Death

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't the host girl an 18 yr old classmate?

Presumably drinking it up in college now, but hopefully no car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between the hosting adult parent and the 18 yr old driver, it doesn't seem right that one pays a minor fine and one goes to jail.

All three of them should be in jail for what they did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/09/21/family-n-potomac-crash-victim-releases-statement/72583840/

I'm not sure how I feel with this statement. I agree with most of it, especially that the host parent should be held criminally responsible. However, their child wasn't doing right either. It feels like they are blaming everyone else, without admitting that their son was drinking underage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/09/21/family-n-potomac-crash-victim-releases-statement/72583840/

I'm not sure how I feel with this statement. I agree with most of it, especially that the host parent should be held criminally responsible. However, their child wasn't doing right either. It feels like they are blaming everyone else, without admitting that their son was drinking underage.

When I know my kid is going to a house with the parents home, I do not expect underage alcohol. Do you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/09/21/family-n-potomac-crash-victim-releases-statement/72583840/

I'm not sure how I feel with this statement. I agree with most of it, especially that the host parent should be held criminally responsible. However, their child wasn't doing right either. It feels like they are blaming everyone else, without admitting that their son was drinking underage.

When I know my kid is going to a house with the parents home, I do not expect underage alcohol. Do you?

Not "expect" but at that age, I question what that are doing. Absolutely. Do you have teens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/09/21/family-n-potomac-crash-victim-releases-statement/72583840/

I'm not sure how I feel with this statement. I agree with most of it, especially that the host parent should be held criminally responsible. However, their child wasn't doing right either. It feels like they are blaming everyone else, without admitting that their son was drinking underage.

When I know my kid is going to a house with the parents home, I do not expect underage alcohol. Do you?

Not "expect" but at that age, I question what that are doing. Absolutely. Do you have teens?

Question them all you want. They lie.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the driver and party host(s) should face significant punishment. However, shouldn't there be at least SOME acknowledgement of the complicity of the other boys in the car? They too had been drinking, they didn't wear seat belts, I guarantee that they were on board with the fast driving (there was a comment about someone telling the driver that he could avoid a speed camera by going fast), and I believe they were 18 except for the one boy in the passenger seat, and at least one of the boys other than the driver had a history with the police as well - it could just as easily have been one of them who was driving after drinking. I see no evidence that they were anything other than right there on board with what the driver was doing that night leading up to the accident.

Of course this is a tragedy, but to make the driver out as a terrible person compared to the victims and the many, many other teens out there who engage in similar behavior seems disingenuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/potomac/2015/09/21/family-n-potomac-crash-victim-releases-statement/72583840/

I'm not sure how I feel with this statement. I agree with most of it, especially that the host parent should be held criminally responsible. However, their child wasn't doing right either. It feels like they are blaming everyone else, without admitting that their son was drinking underage.

When I know my kid is going to a house with the parents home, I do not expect underage alcohol. Do you?

Thread mom, is that you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the driver and party host(s) should face significant punishment. However, shouldn't there be at least SOME acknowledgement of the complicity of the other boys in the car? They too had been drinking, they didn't wear seat belts, I guarantee that they were on board with the fast driving (there was a comment about someone telling the driver that he could avoid a speed camera by going fast), and I believe they were 18 except for the one boy in the passenger seat, and at least one of the boys other than the driver had a history with the police as well - it could just as easily have been one of them who was driving after drinking. I see no evidence that they were anything other than right there on board with what the driver was doing that night leading up to the accident.

Of course this is a tragedy, but to make the driver out as a terrible person compared to the victims and the many, many other teens out there who engage in similar behavior seems disingenuous.

You put my thoughts into words much better than I did. That's the problem I have with the Murks' press release.

[Anonymous]

All the kids breaking the law should be punished. If you'd like to include the dead ones, go ahead.

But I'm sorry, the adult(?) parents in the home need the most severe punishment.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of 15-22 yr olds, I'd personally be devastated if my kids got into a car with a driver they knew to be drinking. (I've gotten over being "devastated" if there's alcohol anywhere--even if parents are there, if parents say there's no alcohols etc etc -- because kids can always find a way to get alchol). But that will be my personal failing since we feel like we drill the message "no drinking and driving" over most any other. I haven't read their statement fully, but I'd like to have heard that the parents' statement acknowledged that there was plenty of blame to go around -- including theirs and their son's.

[Anonymous]

The aspect of complicity in terms of the teens who were drinking themselves and made the decision not to wear their seat belts would come into play with regard to the disposition of the case of the teen driving the car.

However, the case of the adult parents - especially the one or both if there who was in the house at the time of the party - is what needs to be focused on in a wider sense of the community. From the testimony of the teens present, the Dad had visual knowledge of liquor coming in and also personal one-on-one conversation with at least one teen about the beer. He should be held accountable in a court of law. Also there should be a different "magnitude of sanction" if hosting an underage drinking party results in the loss of life for any adult in a household. Since the girl hosting the party was in her parents home, I would focus less on her and more on them in terms of criminal negligence. This is the only way to try and get more of a sense of accountability in the wider community - threat of prosecution.

I can only imagine the pressures being put on the Montgomery County police in this case, and I do commend them for doing their due diligence. Now let's see how the local district attorney's office follows through.....

[Anonymous]

You need a law on the books before you can charge and prosecute crimes. Come on people, this is an emotional issue, but please put your thinking caps on. Anyone knowledgeable of the Maryland Code would be useful now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the driver and party host(s) should face significant punishment. However, shouldn't there be at least SOME acknowledgement of the complicity of the other boys in the car? They too had been drinking, they didn't wear seat belts, I guarantee that they were on board with the fast driving (there was a comment about someone telling the driver that he could avoid a speed camera by going fast), and I believe they were 18 except for the one boy in the passenger seat, and at least one of the boys other than the driver had a history with the police as well - it could just as easily have been one of them who was driving after drinking. I see no evidence that they were anything other than right there on board with what the driver was doing that night leading up to the accident.

Of course this is a tragedy, but to make the driver out as a terrible person compared to the victims and the many, many other teens out there who engage in similar behavior seems disingenuous.

You put my thoughts into words much better than I did. That's the problem I have with the Murks' press release.

It will all be based on the facts of the case. Dead people can't testify and Maryland law gives a presumption that they exercised due care for their own safety. It can be rebutted with testimony. But that presumption exists. The proximate cause of death here is likely speeding vs dui. So it can be argued both ways -- that the kids didn't agree to speeding, or that one or two or three of them egged the driver on to speed/beat the speed camera. You could have different outcomes based on the actions of each of the three passengers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The aspect of complicity in terms of the teens who were drinking themselves and made the decision not to wear their seat belts would come into play with regard to the disposition of the case of the teen driving the car.

However, the case of the adult parents - especially the one or both if there who was in the house at the time of the party - is what needs to be focused on in a wider sense of the community. From the testimony of the teens present, the Dad had visual knowledge of liquor coming in and also personal one-on-one conversation with at least one teen about the beer. He should be held accountable in a court of law. Also there should be a different "magnitude of sanction" if hosting an underage drinking party results in the loss of life for any adult in a household. Since the girl hosting the party was in her parents home, I would focus less on her and more on them in terms of criminal negligence. This is the only way to try and get more of a sense of accountability in the wider community - threat of prosecution.

I can only imagine the pressures being put on the Montgomery County police in this case, and I do commend them for doing their due diligence. Now let's see how the local district attorney's office follows through.....

Mark Anderson, is he heading this? What's his record with these issues? Is there one iota of hope for justice?