This "accident" would have never occurred if somebody knew how to walk on the side of the road instead of in the middle of the road. It seems this DA was pressured to make a case when their wasn't one. They couldn't even get the grand jury to go along with it. Ms Ihle has suffered enough and a little bit of alcohol in her system did not affect her driving. Her car was where it was supposed to be, on the road. I realize Mr Smith is grieving but this accident would have happened no matter who came along that road that night. This could have been me a couple years ago. I came across an individual walking in the middle of the road late at night with black clothing on. Lucky for him I was looking for black moose at the time and was able to avoid him but the average driver would not have seen him.

Finally this is over with. I agree with freedomfighter that Povich was pressured into this case and im glade that he politically covered his arse by pursuing it, but what now will he do for jill? this is a big town filled with small minds and alot of opinions and gossip. I know what these last 18 months or so have felt like for jill and what she's had to put up with. without the kind words and support from her family and many many friends im not sure how she or any one could have come through this intact. Thank god there were enough right thinking folks rounded up for grand jury and they were able to see this "case" for what it was, a troubled young man with a history of doing stupid reckless things putting himself and others in harms way.Unfortunately it was Ms. Ihley that happened by at that moment and her life will be forever changed for it. I thank all of you that stood behind and supported my friend through all of this, it will be remembered. Peace and happiness from this point forward.You have your life back. Be well.

Rock.

No doubt,

Alcohol in her blood stream 1;30AM in the morning and she doesn't even get charged with DUI, sounds suspicious to me.

Maybe not her fault hitting a person in the middle of the road at that time of morning, but if she hadn't been drinking she may have been more aware of her suroundings and may have been able to avoid hitting them. 99% of the time it has been stated that when there is a fatal accident involving a life, there is a test done immediately for drugs and alcohol, WHY NOT IN THIS CASE? That is the question .If I was the Father I would pursue this to the bitter end, sue the department for not conducting a test. She must have sombody on the inside working the system for her, if it was anybody else they would have been hung out to dry. Plain and simple. Maybe he shouldn't have been walking in the middle of the road, but she shouldn't have been drinking and driveing.

Must be reasons that we are not aware of. I would say they didn't have a case. Maybe she blew a .06 only.

I'm sure that the content of alcohol would have been more if they had done their job right and went by the book, after a fatal accident they are supposed to test for drugs and alcohol immediately. In this case that did not happen, it states that in the paper. They have to perform the test within a half hour or the results can dramatically drop.

Had this been a 25 yr old male he would have been indicted and gone to prison. If she hit him at one thirty am and had alcohol in her system then there should be some kind of penalty. A man is dead, walking in the road or not, mabe she would have reacted quicker if she had not been drinking. I agree this could happen to anyone but come on, who does she know in the legal system. Anyone else would have been prosecuted. Washington and Hancock County is like Kangaroo Court anyway.

I have taught my children since they were able to walk that if you walk in the road you will get run over. Taught my dog to stay out of the road too. Amazingly enough none of them have been run over!! Strange how that works isn't it!! When I first read about this I couldn't believe that woman was charged at all not to mention nearly an entire year after the accident! Crazy! I told my kids once again, "IF YOU ARE IN THE ROAD, DO NOT BE SHOCKED WHEN YOU GET RUN OVER!!!" Sould we start prosecuting all of the people who hit and kill deer? Most people I know who have hit deer hit them because THEY WERE IN THE ROAD, not because they were drinking. I am quite sure this lady has been traumatized enough, she needn't be bothered any more

I have taught my children since they were able to walk that if you walk in the road you will get run over. Taught my dog to stay out of the road too. Amazingly enough none of them have been run over!! Strange how that works isn't it!! When I first read about this I couldn't believe that woman was charged at all not to mention nearly an entire year after the accident! Crazy! I told my kids once again, "IF YOU ARE IN THE ROAD, DO NOT BE SHOCKED WHEN YOU GET RUN OVER!!!" Sould we start prosecuting all of the people who hit and kill deer? Most people I know who have hit deer hit them because THEY WERE IN THE ROAD, not because they were drinking. I am quite sure this lady has been traumatized enough, she needn't be bothered any more

We all know the cycle of alcohol leaving our bodies...she was not tested till some time later and still had alcohol in his system. If the police would have checked her when the accident happened as would be procedure or even within an hour, there would have been charges here because Jill was probably drunk. BUT the police did not and therefor we will never know therefor charges should not be filed period. She blew under the legal limit we have a legal limit because it means you can have a beer and drive to a certain blood alcohol limit. The law is the law. NOW maybe she was not drunk MAYBE she was always under the limit but how one person can maintain a blood alcohol level just under the legal limit hours after an accident ..science sats she was probably intoxicated at the time of the crash. but we will never know and she should never be charged because of that ..Jill did not get off free, she lives with this daily...just ask her. Jill move on move forward and im sure regardless of anything that has or will happen she has learned from this..and the fact it wasn't totally her fault ...we have roads for cars not for people waling in them at night...

And her employer being a very well connected attorney in ellsworth and friends for years with the DA I am sure helped.

A little bit of alcohol in her system??? Are you serious freedomfighter? Thats like saying...well..he only shot once of herion that morning...its alright...he didnt do anythign wrong...give me a break! Do you drive with alcohol in your system? Let us know then..its only fair that we be allowed to get the hell out of your way.

It is a well known fact that depending on who you are in this stae the laws can change. about 17 years ago a female state trooper drove into the livingroom of my brothers home in Northern Maine driving her own vehicle. She reeked of ALCOHOL. At the time, my brother had no idea who she was when he reported her smelling of booze and in the middle of his livingroom but the other State troopers knew who she was. They quietly put her in thier car and drove her home and the accident was declared as her "Falling Asleep at the Wheel"...yeah...right...sure...ok.

I read about 3 years ago that this same state trooper is living in Mid Coast Maine and got caught for OUI....she stated she didnt have a problem and that it was a one time thing...she got off on that charge too I believe.

Opinionated is right.

What a joke.No wonder more and more people have very little respect for the law.Ringmaster you must drink your breakfast.

Wonder why BDN always removes my posts while I'm not looking. Did I offend someone there?

let me say this who was there when my son was walking in the middle of the road? who was there? Jill IHLe and HER passenger who says he was in the middle of the road? was he on the south bound lane who knows who says ? Jill IHLES. would you tell the sheriffs any thing different ? but she has to live with this lie all her life as our family lives day by day and his two children. who live with us . he was taken to that party by some people who new the out come of the fate that knight he did not nothat they were to choke him out pull his pants of infront of every one at the party and about every thing else that they could think of . was there any thing done to them no .I believe the SINCLAIRE brothers are chicken fighters they pick there places to do this and the others involved no who and what went on they havnt tackled the right people yet but what comes around goes around. ther up on the pedestal in Elllsworth along with Jill Ihle and the whole gang but when they , yes my boy was taken to that party and drove out into the knight to walk home or be killed there at the residents maybe . ther is talk that they tryed to run over him . if he was mad I dont blame him he was lyed to and that led him to his death , I have in writing that and sgt . Bishop told me that others had passed him without striking him as he was at another party of school kids drinking and he got the call of a pedetrian struck in trenton, the people told him that they had just seen arthur thumbing for a ride at the edge of the white line. in the accident report she was traveling at 55 to 65 when he was struck she did not even know what she had struck , when you leave a bar takeng a friend cindy gott home she was impaired and talking not paying attention just flying along there shouldnt be anything in the road at this time of the knight I hope that all drivers dont think this way as there could be some seriose road kill .taking place that is what makes this a crime that should have gone to the grand jury for a wrongfull death and there is a lot more that could be siad oui I could not have gotten away with it , but if this was taken to another county where Jill Ilhle was not so famous things would have turned out different , and for those of you up there in the ellsworth area good luck I am not done yet. arthur smith sr

And for those of you, who talk through your ars instead of your brains , the day may come when you loose some one close to you are you willing to forgive ? there are surcumstances here that I dont agree with and a lot of people wonder if they can all drive just under the influence now so we may have more drunk drivers on the road this gives a very good signal to all we can drink and drive careless through the knight hit some ones son who happens to be walking or playing hopscoth in the road way , the person behind the wheel is usualy blamed for the death and in my opinion any idiot that claims to know the law and let this go is not made for the job . it is favoritism. nomatter what any one says and that is my own opinion.

Jill Ihle works for the right people and she has no remorse of what she has done her writing on my space spoke for that I have several copies . and all her lovly friends she must be quite the little partier . spread your face over the internet you should be proud of your self. we all need the page from your book . but I wouldnt want it. it must be terrible reading.

'garrisgammaw' -- not only are you correct on this [very sad] incident, but the pattern is astounding; and this in a state that has more law officials [per capita] than any state in the Union.

** and that may be a good thing?

However--God forbid that you happened to be single,white hetrosexual, working male and are suspected of --------- in Maine.

Conversely - if you're 'other' you can rape children - 30 days ---- you all read the same reports I do.

What up?

she has to live with the fact that she hit some body with her car for the rest of her life . arthur smith jr. who i think was in the road trying to kill hime self. and he did it. but he should have done it some where else where no one but him would have got hurt. i know to stay out of the road or you will get hit thats what i was tought at a very young age. i guess that arthurs parents didnt teach him that, or he would NOT HAVE BEEN IN THE ROAD. plan and simple it was arthur smiths fault that this accident had happened. she did not have over the limit. the test proved that. and people should not believe every thing that the paper writes they are wrong some times. the case has been dismissed you all should just leave her alone.

Mr. Smith....I am very sorry your son was killed in this tragedy, but for you to say Jill Ihle has no remorse is very untrue. Im sorry for the pain your family has gone through but it WAS an accident. DO NOT say that she doesn't have any remorse because believe me when i say you have no idea how wrong you are. This is a very tragic thing that happened but its time for everyone to move on with their lives and try to heal. Its time to leave Jill alone.

I agree that it's completely untrue and unfair to say Jill showed no remorse. She was a wreck after this terrible incident as anyone would be. Everyone involved is obviously hurt and those feeling will probably always be there on both sides. It can't be undone and it's time to leave Jill alone as she'll have to live with this for the rest of her life. She's a parent also and can definitely understand the hurt the father is feeling...losing a child is the worst kind of loss, but trying to make JIll's life hell is only going to affect her little girl and she's completely innocent in all of this...think about that. This person shouldn't have been walking in the middle of the road...plain and simple. Yes we should pay great attention to the road but the truth of the matter is we don't 100% of the time...that's why so many deer and moose get hit. They're not always in the road so we don't expect it and I'm sure that's what happened in this same situation. I'm sorry for both sides...I hope you all can find peace someday somehow.

First of all who cares who Jill works for. That doesn't matter. Second of all for anyone to say anything about Jill not having remorse has no idea what they are talking about. If you don't know Jill you are missing out on a wonderful person. This is the person that thinks of others before herself. This is a wonderful mother, sister, daughter and friend. After the accident happen Jill went through some really hard times, but I am guessing you didn't know that. I am guessing you don't know how many sleepless nights she has had or how many flashbacks or even how many people are rude and mean to her for an accident that happen. Accidents happen, yes sad but true it took someone's life but it also effected someone who has to live with this everyday. Being at a party was Mr. Smith's choice, walking out of the party intoxicated was also his choice, walking down a road that was foggy was once again something that he decided to do, he also decided to walk in the middle of the road. For what his reasons are for walking in the road no one will know but comments that he made at this party kind of answer some questions. There was nothing saying she was drunk, all it says was that there was alchole in her blood. How much was in his blood? This was an accident and that is all. Jill did nothing wrong, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The more this is brought up the more the memories come back for everyday, the Smith family and Jill and her family. This was a tragic accident and it should be left to rest.

Marla Smith

Personally, I hope she wakes up and goes to bed thinking about what she did for the rest of her life. She was drinking. Period. remorse or no remorse. She will never have to pay for what she did. We can all "SPECULATE" why that man was in the road but none really knows what happened so those blaming the man who died dont have any more right to say he did it on purpose than you think we have of saying she dont deserve such treatment from society.

I feel terrible for this man's father for he is the one who is paying the price of this right along side his dead child. Nothing anyone can say will justify that accident. God Bless you Mr. Smith and your family.

This is Gleason Smith and id like to say a few things about this raw deal that has gone on. First of all, all you retards that are running your mouths about my brother saying that he killed himself you need to shut the hell up. He is dead and she is free for what she did, she should be rotting in a jail cell at this moment.I dont care how many friends and family she has that thinks she didnt do wrong, bull shit she was driving while she had been drinking, just like somebody else said if this was anybody else drinking and driving holy they would throw em in jail. FREEDOMFIGHTER you need to shut your mouth also, you have no idea what you are talking about, the DA is a bunch of bull shit and also the grand jury, probaly all friends of hers. Either way the law sucks and they didn't do there jobs very well, she should be locked up. If i was driving drunk with a passenger and I went of the road and the passenger got killed holy shit they would send me straight to jail, its the same thing with this case, no matter what she should be charged for what she has done. I have tried to put all this behind me and not get involved but reading all these comments that you *!&^#%s have written really pisses me off bad. So all you pricks out there shut the hell up get your facts srtaight before you open your worthless mouths. I personally hope she has rotten life, she still has her family and my mom and dad have gone through hell with this, and my brothers kids have to grow up without a dad. Just not fair at all.

anonon if you had been following the case you would know that although she had alcohol in her blood stream she was not over the limit, however the deceased was blistering drunk..... By law she was not driving illegally. In a fatality accident such as this as soon as the police responded she was taken to the ER and blood drawn, and blood would have also been drawn from the deceased, this is standard protocol in a fatality MVA. In this accident it seems the deceased was actually the cause of the accident. He was blistered, staggering in the middle of the road at 1:30 am it could have been just as easy to have a police cruiser strike him or a truck driver as this person. I am not saying she might not have been impaired, but.. the law states she wasn't, and that is what the DA must go by. It is a terrible thing that happened to both families and this woman must live with it the rest of her life. I personally do not feel she should go to jail for this man being in the middle of the road drunk and staggering, any sober person would not have likely been in the middle of the road at that time of day.

you hope she wakes up and go to bed thinking of it hell she dont even remember what she done untill she was wisked away that knight , some one siad leave her alone let her live her life her little girl might be affected, I believe I know two little ones also afected that live with me who cares about them? just my family no one else seems to think of this , and I dont care if they do I dont give a hoot in hell for any body I believe it was a man slaughter that took these childrens father and my son away and trenton people seem to know he was walking in the middle of the road how in hell do you know the van was struck some where on the passenger side if I rember corecklty I have the accident report but like some one said you cant believ all you read in the paper I dont believe he was walking in the middle of the road was you all there watching this event you are all folowing it up so well I dont believe any one across the sullivan bridge and that goes for a lot of people . to many crooks to many lies to many , opinions on here as if you were there that knight I am going to find out about this and I am in no way giving up, this will last out my life and I will find out before I die . thast was my son not yours he is dead . nomatter how drunk he was he was in the road or not it still leads to two people in the van laughing talking not paying attention lack of brain cells drunk driving to fast it still is manslaughter and all the talk on here every one has there opinions but I see that there are some idiots out there and that is taking it mildly . no one has met the devil yet.

Tikitorch , sounds logical to me.

arthursmithsr, no I wasn't it is a case of Public Record... I don't live across the Sullivan bridge.. It is terrible that this man died, what I am saying is that the Operator as Law Defines OUI was not over the limit. But the person in the road was. The deceased was also responsible for his own actions and the fact he put his life in jeapordy and put his children and family in this position. If the person behind the wheel was on cold medicine would you all be so quick to damn her/him or a bunch of teenagers talking and laughing on their way home from a basketball game or an elderly person who may not see that great at night? Inattention on both parties may have been a factor, it does not make it criminal NO MATTER HOW BAD YOU HURT and I do sypathize with you The fact is she was not legally intoxicated... the deceased was.

-

Accident reports are preliminary, it is the whole Investigation that you need to look at and it needs to be done objectively, anyone close to either party would not be able to look at the situation objectively, especially the family of the deceased. Someday maybe you will be able to look at it objectively and be able to find forgivness in your heart for the driver and your son! God Bless!

Thanks Stevey... :-)

to OPINIONATEMAINE. you hope that she goes to bed and wakes up every day with this for the rest of her life. that is just wrong to hope for that. but if its not wrong i guess we should all hope that arthur smiths famliy should go to bed and wake up every day with or with out any remorse for what he has done to so many people. we can speculate all we want. he was IN THE ROAD. AND HE SHOULD HAVE KNOW BETTER. unless that is what he wanted if people had missed him earlier becouse he was in the road then it is plan on simple that he had the in tensoins of ending his life. other than that he would have got out of the road the first time.

TO GLEASON SMITH. DID YOUR PARENTS TEACH YOU TO STAY OUT OF THE ROAD. if they did why didnt they teach you brother. she shouldn't rot in a jail cell for some thing that was not her fault. it was proved that way PERIOD. jury of YOUR peirs said so PLAIN AND SIMPLE. so maybe you should shut the hell up and get your facts straight before you open your mouth. she was not over the limit but your brother should be died for the amount of alcohol in his system. so if he would have died for that would you and your family be give this much shit to the beer companys. I DONT THINK SO.

TO ARTHURSMITHSR. where you there i dont think so. so you just run your mouth think that you know what happened.you read the police report you know every thing. well YOU DONT KNOW SHIT. your son was in the road. that was in the report. where you in the van. i dont think so. so how in the hell do you know what was going on inside the van at the time when YOUR SON was in the road. you cannt believe every thing you read in the new paper the bdn said that she was over the limit. but you have the police report so you know that she wasn't. but YOUR SON was and in the road. al so in the police report i dont thinkl it said that she was doing 65 mph the only person that know how fast she was going was her. NOT YOU OR THE POLICE you whern't there to clock her or were you. ok shut up about how fast you think she was going. your should just write one time thats it just once: THAT MY SON WAS IN THE ROAD HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN THE ROAD, THIS WAS AN AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT.

bearguy....IF YOUR A FRIEND OF JILL.....YOUR NOT HELPING HER....AS A SUPPORTER OF HERS IN THIS WAS AN ACCIDENT YOU MAKE ME WANT RETHINK IT.....IF SHE KEEPS FRIENDS LIKE YOU IT DOES NOT SAY MUCH FOR HER CHARACTER!....REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING THIS MAN LOST A SON...JILL IS STILL BREATHING....AGAIN...YOUR HURTING JILL...NOT HELPING HER

YOU do not have to be charged criminally......... to be sued in civil court...........look at OJ SIMPSON.not guilty of murder,,,,lost in civil court....so anyone posting here with some .... knowledge BDN records can be subpoenaed ...careful

bellasophia LMAO we all know ellsworth who you are and who you work for is HUGE in an crminal case in ellsworth maine!

BELOW SUMS IT UP BELLASOPHIA THAT IT DOES MATTER WHO YOU WORK OR KNOW IN ELLSWORTH MAINE.....LAST SENTENCE PROTECTS ALOT OF PEOPLE...=) I HOPE I NEVER FACE THE SAME SITUATION....BECAUSE....IM NOT AS WELL LIKED OR KNOWN

A review of published Hancock County grand jury indictments since the accident indicates that Ihle never was indicted in connection with the fatal collision. Unless a defendant agrees to waive indictment, felony charges cannot formally be filed in Superior Court without a grand jury indictment.

When asked about the lack of a grand jury indictment, Bassano declined to comment. She said grand jury proceedings are confidential and are not considered public

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SAY SHE WS NOT INTOXICATED WHEN SHE HIT MY SON , WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE DOING HAVE YOU DRIVEN THAT PEASCE OF ROAD ? GOOD CLEAR , AGAIN IT IS HER RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEATH SHE IS DRIVING A DANGEROUSE WEAPON WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENSEAND IF SHE WAS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE WHY WAS PARKERS BAR ON WATER STREET SUED BY A LAWYER OF MINE , HA FOR OVER SERVING ALCOHAL THAT LED TO THE DEATH , AND WHERE DID YOU GET INFOMATION FROM PUBLIC RECORDS ? ARE YOU IN THE OFFICE/

arthursmithsR....IF HE WAS MY SON OR BROTHER I WOULD STOP AT NOTHING TO MAKE SOMEONE PAY....I DONT KNOW YOUR PAIN...BUT IT SHOWS...AND I DO BELIEVE YOU WERE WRONGED.....REGARDLESS OF JILLS GUILT OR INNOCENCE...I KNOW HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND ALOT OF COVER UP WAS EVIDENT HERE....ALOT OF PAT MY BACKS WENT ON...AND ALOT OF FAVORS WERE CALLED IN...BUT FROM THE BEGINING THEY HAD TO CAUSE SO MANY MISTAKES WERE MADE.....ANYONE POSTING HERE THAT THINKS FOR A MINUTE THAT THE BALL WA SNOT DROPPED WHEN THEY FAILED TO DO A TEST IMMEDIATELY ON JILL IS FOOLISH......... ITS STANDARD PROCEDURE .......THAT WAS NOT DONE FOR HOURS LATER ........ONLY THEN SHOWING HER BELOW THE LEGAL LIMIT........ BUT STILL WITH ALCOHOL...THATS WHERE THE MISTAKES STARTED OR THEIR MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DIFF OUTCOME WITH THE CHARGES...BUT I DOUBT IT THE SECRET GRAND JURY......WOULDN'T INDITE THEIR FRIENDS.. FRIEND

Collins327 You are right there was a lot of cover ups going on . the passenger also was and is a big name in the Elsworth area and so is Jill , of course there was cover up I could tell from talking to the hancock county srg. to talking with the DA s office that they had no intentions of trying to do justice they dont give a damn about me or my family they feel bad that jill hit my son and put her in a spot so they worked a little extra and set her free, my son lays in the ground and the justice system feels so sorry , my family needs no comfort from them and the fellow who presented the case to the jury and the whole 24 of them should feel better now they deliberated voted and let it be . if one person is drunker than the other to hell with it let the drunk driver keep on driving . they did not have the decency to even let me know exackly where he was struck I still dont know . I found out that the trenton town office or any other place down there did not emailed me back with any location of an anax building , so I just guess it was by the hotel or motels this side of carols IGA . so to hell with them all I know about a cover up and this was a good one but I may sue the whole county before its over , I want to ask them on the stand under oath and watch there eyes you can tell who has a forked tonge . my grand children miss there father and so do we all these so called brave commenters on here can run there mouth all they want I have heard it all and believe me it is a sad situation to here so much of it . when you talk about some ones son and keep talking long after hes dead and the one who walks free , they should not comment at all they should just go have a party with her and have a merry crhistmas and a happy new year. they hide there name s set behind there walls and run there pity full stupid mouths . I at least let my name be known and I will talk to the president before long I have a coversation coming up with him about laws and the state of maine and all this cover up stuff and if the da new as they told me it was a hard case , they were dumfounded and never took the time to although it has been almost 1 1/2 years that to me is a long time but that was not wasted on this case .they new what was to come of it . they sterd me into the wrong decision so as to get her out of it . I have no faith whatso ever in the law it is as crooked as any one they are prosecuting all lawyers can have a conference and das and if they want you to go to jail you will go but if they go behind closed doors and say she walks she walks . what a difference this would have been if he had struck her with some thing besides his body , I saw his body before the funeral parlor had him fixed up and believe me my wife and I dont forget that when we go to bed or get up it is there on our minds , I am angry that he was taken to the party I am angry that he was beaten up and throwed out into the night , and I am angry that a van driven by a driver who was drinking , I am angry at a lot of things he went on his own will, maybe but he was taken there to be beaten up and that to me is crime in it self he was thrown around pounded up and sent out into the knight by people who nomatter if it was there residence the ones that took him there should have left with him but that was the secret they was doing there part and for what I have no idea why they done this , when you take some one who is drinking and gang up on him and I know of atleast 2 people I can find and talk with that were there so I know this for sure . I am not talking through my ass as some people say I am not full of shit I am full of anger that all this happened to him and no one even went to jail maybe I have time to sue the ones that did this to him I am going to try any thing and every thing , no one is going to tell me to shut up and none is going to shut me up I say what I mean . his content may have been high but when you have your wind shut of by 2 or 3 guys you may need some air , I believe he suffered before he was struck and people saw him on the white line as they went by I told that early so he was just trying to get out of that area I am sure car lights show up and people who are clear headed if her alcohal was not that high on that strech of road she had no reason for striking him , you can mouth of back at this but no one can say any thing that wil change this familys minds on what happened that knight so those of you that have some thing to say, say it to my face Ill even set up a spot in ellsworth beside the road with a sign so if you see me there stop in and represent youself in person I will be glad to go ove the details with you . se you there. Im the one with in loving memoery of arthur smith jr. on the van.

To this young man's family, I am so sorry for your loss, there aren't words to describe your pain I am sure. I may have missed something but I have to ask why the persons at the home were not charged in some way?

If this young man was so intoxicated, why did all the others just let him leave? Why did not one person call him a cab. offer him a ride? Call his family? If he was intoxicated then his cognitive abilities were severly impaired and SOMEONE should have done something to prevent him from being hurt in any way.

I'm sorry but with what I have just said, I don't feel this was an ACCIDENT, someone should be held responsible for this,

I am sure this young lady will suffer for the rest of her life and she will face her maker somday, but, WHY did not one person make sure this young man was safe from harm?

To Mr. Smith: I am so sorry for your loss and your pain ad that of your family. Don't waste one breath on defending your son here, You do not ever need to do that, nor should you feel you have to. Again I am so sorry for what you are having to endure.

I would look into a civil suit, I know he was an adult and made his own choice BUT when a person's cognitive ability is imapaired, they are NOT able to make good choices, therefore one can expect a bad outcome. This I think is something I wil probably never understand. This poor boy deserved respect and protection from atleast one person from that party. If anything else, the boy and his family deserve respect NOW.

Strange, for once I agree with scollins.

I have one more comment, it states above she was thought to have been under the influence of intoxicants...The would mean not only alcohol but drugs of some sort whether prescription or not, If I were you Mr. Smith I would fight this as hard as you possibly can! I would do anything in my power to find the ENTIRE thruth of what happened that night!

They had SOME reason to say she was under the influence of intoxicants as well as alcohol in her system! She IS to blame here, no doubt in my mind!

rthursmithsr...DON'T BOTHER STOOPING TO THEIR LEVEL...GO CIVIL...contact an out of town attorney...

I sure will soon there will be justice soon I can bring this whole thing back to court with others at the party and I have one of the best lawyers in the country and we will see about this whole matter. stooping as low as the mouths I have heard on here is wasting good time let them talk , ignorance speaks for it self , the party is just begun.

The language and ignorance on here amazes me... No people think we Mainers are stupid and ignorant....

I meant NO WONDER sorry

arthursmithsr...I know its natural to want to pay back or someone to pay or make someones life miserable...I can see you have many reasons to want to...but focus on "justice" for you son....rather then paying back or someone having to pay, Justice for you son sounds better to those who listen to your charges and more ears will open....after all this is about his loss and his pain and his suffering and his children's loss..and his being run down by a drunk.Yes you have an important role in this you have a loss too...one that can not be measured by lay people like me we don't have a clue your suffering, to be honest I don't think you even know the extent your suffering you have been to consumed with hope and justice only to be slapped in the face by a system that is clear and precise...you drink and drive you are at fault in an accident is what I was always told...even if the other person is remotely at fault say they had a flat tire and was swerving and you hit them head on...I was always taught that a freak thing like that with drink in you can lead you to prison...drinking and driving is so bad..I know many that do it casually few beers and a drive home...its called Russian roulette with a car...I was sympathetic somewhat to Jill till her friends started mouthing the way they did...I am sorry for that to Arthur's family..Yes I was feeling bad for everyone her included..but what her friends said and did here showed me her character ..because my gramp's always said this.."lay down with dogs wake up with fleas" we are the company we keep. These friends have real information real facts so they think, they got these from someone and I fully believe it was from Jill. That shows me no compassion no sorrow no guilt no remorse, no taking some responsibility ..You will never forget. You will never stoop hurting. You do not EVER have to forgive someone who killed your child. Your baby. Your flesh in blood. No matter what the worlds selective few or many thought of him, you do not ever have to stop your passion of remembering the good you seen in this man. He deserves no less. BUT for your own peace and anger and hurt one day when the time is right you need to try and focus all this energy and gut wrenching pain into finding a way to channel it into JUSTICE, positive things to get your answers..I really believe you have a civil case why not if you can sue someone for losing your jeans in a dry cleaners or mcdonalds coffee being to hot..you surely can sue someone who was not indited but had alcohol on her breath and tested positive for alcohol and ran your son down if he was hanging onto a stop sign or in the road for god sakes. I do not believe you will ever ever get the truth from Hancock County PERIOD. Anyone who knows anyone in that system knows why...=) sad sad sad but so true. and unless your a big name in town one of the old names in town....you have little footing...but you do have grounds with the right Attorney to move your case out of Hancock and that would be my first fight. God Bless you and God Bless your son and God Bless your Son's children do not ever let them forget who their Daddy was and educate them how he was murdered and they will be better citizens for this and know the pain drinking and driving causes.

Regardless of who says what on here, this is a loss on both parts no matter the circumstances. One lost a son, another has to live with what she did. The loss is very hard to live with, but drinking & driving do not mix as its been well known forever. Both sides have their own reasons to feel the way they do, regardless of how anyone else judges them.

Mainelyme2........I kinda have to agree with you.

I only hope some has remorse...some people do not have a conscience..its a sad reality...she does thou that have reasons to feel she was a victim..she had to put her wedding off. she had to worry about her daughter, she had to endure this...Better then rotting in the ground and watching the dead mans kids cry for daddy. But I am not being smart to your comments I do agree with them BUT ones dead ones living with what they did...which is worse is a matter of opinion.

Scollins327--well said. And I agree with you about having remorse & not having a conscience. Too many people out there don't. That's also another reason I gave up driving a semi the day after Christmas. Too many close calls for me and there is no way I would be able to live if I had an accident that was fatal. I'll live being broke because I can also live with knowing I wasn't the one to cream that car that cut me off. (Just adding my own experiences here in Wisconsin on these roads!! They are as bad as Maine ones in the wintertime)

Proven innocent in a court of law. What more do you want? Maybe she should have had a test right away after the accident but everyone has the right to wave that and take a blood test. If she had an .079999999 then she is innocent. You could blow that with 2 beers. A guy walking in the road at that time is taking his life into his own hands. Its just a bad situation all around.

Today is my birthday as I type here and it has been the second without him to say happy birthday dad. I have driven for over 30 years or more and I always thought if any one drank any thing an caused a fatality they would get charged with some thing , nomatter what , never heard of all this just under the limit or 0.6 this has nothing to do with it I have always been aware of drunk drivers . evry one has done some thing in there lifes that would if they thought about it embaress them . that includes me my sons and almost every one at one time or another . but I have or never thought that as every one on here claims or most that they must know the inside story by the way they talk . that if it was some one in there family that they would not be angry at the way this ws handled , and it depends on some people can hold there liquerbetter than others and also drive better while drinking , some people use a littl more common sense when there drinking so that while there on the road they wont be noticed by the troopers or some sherrifs . some people drive constantly under the influence and have done so for years with out even being stopped or caught . but sooner or later some thing like this will happen and the foolishness comes to an end , and also most usualy some ones life, this time they blame it on my son for being blistered drunk in the road as they say but when the truth of the matter as I have said before when your driving you are supoosed to be able to control the actions of the car your driving , it only takes a split second to hit a bus load of kids , deer as people have mentioned . but the speech I hear Jill say that who in the hell would be in the road at that time of the knight seems to make me stop and think if she should be driving or have a lisence , that is why I cant drop this I know by the way this was handled it was covered .. who knows what could be in the road at any time you normaly are suposed to be aware of the weather and I was taught early on by my father to drive according to the waether conditions and I have not one accident on my record , not saying that it could happen because there are people out there that dont believe there should be any thing in the road . or at 1 in the morning when your loaded and partying . your the only stupid one out there what a way to come to a conclusion that it was my sons fault and then the grand jury say no case. whow , boy is this luck or what nomatter how any one looks at it it is protection and not justice . justice has failed at this moment but I will be working to re enter this case if I die trying . I have only been trying to hold things together for my sons children they mean the world to me and no one on here no,s how much we miss him I am dis a pointed but I am holding my chin up and starting over , where theres a will theres away . and the people at that party think it over and done with but it is far from being over. as far as Im concerned I have had enogh of this I could care less what people comment on they can talk all they want to say any thing I am done on here ,I have to go on to the next step. good luck all you out there , wel see you soon .

STEVEY DEE she was NOT proven innocent in a court of law..LOL...there was not enough to continue the charge..why because ONLY that the behind closed door GRAND JURY would not indite her.......PERIOD the district attorney did file charges period....and asked the GRAND JURY to indite which is a secret closed doors proceeding that they can call any witnesses they want ONLY if others could give evidence...like the victims family she would be indited...possibly...but innocent NO she was not found to be innocent of what? she hit a man and killed him...she is not innocent of that innocent of being held responsible yes because the blood wa snot drawn in time.....ARTHUR....I again can not imagine your PAIN....you seem to talk alot about those at the party and its not over yet.....focus you energy on JILL...the rest will fall into line....i know its tough...to let go of the ones who beat him that night,,,but jill and nobody else killed him...by the way wherever he was partying if they had homeowners......they let a drunk man leave....who got killed...worth looking into....anything anything anything for someone to pay! but JILL killed your son...not the idiot cowards who beat on him...who now have shut up on here after my comment anything they say could be used against them.....interesting ha....

Scollins..Give it a rest alright. You can't help this family with your thoughts. No one can. Justice if due will be served in it's own time frame. Unfortunatly she is innocent until proven guilty and that has not happened at this point. I'm not trying to be rude but going on and on to this family with your thoughts isn't in anyway helping them cope, nor do any of us have the ability to heal the wounds of anyone in this tragedy.

This poor family will grieve and feel all sorts of emotions, you just keep going on and on and on.

The truth will come out in it's own time, justice if due will be served, and the unfortunate aspect of this all is that eventhough all they wish for justice wise wil come, their pain will never cease.

Let it be. And please don't do your usual come backs of name calling here, it's not necessary, no one including myself is being disrespectful to you, just hoping you will see.

Mr. Smith, I wish your family luck, and that you can someday find solice in your childs memory and make his memory for his children a celebration of his life. God bless you.

Mr. Smith, One more thing Sir, Happy Birthday and even though you cannot hear your son saying it to you, It is a guarantee he has sung for you all day. I'm sorry sir for your pain. I think everyone wishes they could ease it in some way but in honesty there is nothing anyone can do or say, especially here sir. These boards aren't always respectful and sometimes people say things they shouldn't. They will reap what they sow for sure someday as all whom walk this earth.

Again sir, Happy Birthday from all of us strangers whom were thinking of you and your family today.

Scollins327 your comment "but innocent NO she was not found to be innocent of what?" I disagee, she was not PROVEN GUILTY... We are ALL PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY...... SO INFACT SHE IS INNOCENT UNTIL OTHERWISE PROVEN. This is a RIGHT You, Mr. SMith, and myself all get not Just this woman......

SteveyDee:

You do not have the right to waive the test and get a blood test, You have to take it when and whatever kind the officer wants to give you,wether,by blood,ballon,or breathilizer. So check with the authorities before you spew out the untruth. Talk to any officer of the law and ask them if a person can waive testing? Not true.

Doesn't anyone use "Spell Check" anymore? It's good thing that the newspaper is written at the 5th grade level or most of you wouldn't have anything to complain about.

Jill wasn't taking her passenger home, she was on her way to Bar Harbor to pick up a guy.

what makes the difference and that was the reason she was doing 65 in a 45 , she had one thing on her mind as always. she should have had a sobe r drive r to take her according to the fatal she caused.and all this would not have happened . funny I was told by the sheriffs office she had told hinm she was on her way to drop of a friend , what another lie?

Her passenger lives on the other side of Ellsworth, so no she was not on her way to drop her off, had the investigator done his/her job, you as well as the prosecutors would know this as well as additional more pertinent information.

TIKITORCH.......WHATEVER YOU TRIED TO SAY YOU DID NOT DO A VERY GOOD JOB....she is not innocent nor guilty at this point....thats all I have to say....and ya know the grand jury might ge tmore facts one day to charge her with what she did do...run someone over if not then she is free

SOLOTHOUGHS....not to be rude to you either....lol...BUT you do not own this board...or bangor daily news...and can not tell me what I can go on and on and on about....and how do you have the right to speak for this family? and what helps them or not?..you do not have a clue what they like doing or want ....so again button up on these boards post your post and mind your business with other posters and you will not have PEOPLE meaning me being themselves insulting you.....seriously....why not post your own comments about the article and to the family or whatever and leave me alone with what I do...i dont tell u what to say or when....so shush....=) nicely said

and ya know.....ever since I said on this board to those thugs that were really slamming this family....that anything they say on here can be released to the police under subpoena with a court case which he will file!!!.... they stopped the and insults...fight with this family on here.. so ya know maybe they used common sense maybe JILL told them to shut up...cause they sure were giving alot of facts well facts as JILL SEEN THEM...so nah im going to post and post...and ignore you........ like some private emails i got from others on here........... some who talk with you on here too... that said your not "normal"...so nah please mind your own business sweetie

Scollins327 no I got it across just fine.... INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN PROVEN PROVEN GUILTY.... She does not have to be found innocent. She NEEDS to be PROVEN GUILTY!! The Asst DA even stated that they attempted to pursue felony charges and further stated “We did what we could do with that case,” Bassano said. “That case went through that process and it simply did not survive. We did not draw up charges in this case.” You all are saying they are not doing their jobs, if the evidence is not there. FACTUAL evidence how do you think they can possible proceed. Contact the AG’s office and have them investigate… they are going to come up with the conclusion that the case was handled properly.

_

If her BAC was below the legal limit and she was found to be within the speed parameter and on her side of the road, then it is possible to assume there was not enough evidence to proceed. Not to mention the road conditions i.e. the lack of visibility due to the fog and rain add the fact that the deceased was wandering in the middle of the road with a very high BAC level at the time of death! Mr. Smith mentioned that it was her word that told investigators at what point in the road she hit the deceased. To be very blunt am sure that this poor man's blood and gray matter were good indicators of where he was hit by the car.

_

It is an unfortunate accident that has changed the course of the lives of deceased’s family and the life of the young ladies that were involved that night. I am sure he or another member of his family have gotten behind the wheel at least once in their lifetime after having a toddy, does it mean he did something wrong? The answer is NO not if he was under the BAC limit and not breaking any other laws at the time. The Sherriff’s Dept investigated this, they are very thorough and I am sure that because she works for a Defense attorney had NO precedent here. It isn't like she worked for the DA and it got swept under the rug. Due diligence was done. Let it go and concentrate on making sure this doesn't happen again. I hope you can understand this; I tend to write above the 5th grade level.

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Annon the blood test is mandatory when there is a fatility. In a regular DUI stop you can refuse the test.

Tikitorch....are you saying Jill did not run this man over in the road.....???? guilty or innocent killing him in this accident???? thats ALL I am saying-asking whether she is charged or not....that must pass .....obviously got to pass.. the burden of proof to a JURY...which they-DA do not have enough to bring a case...THEY SAY....so... your right..........therefore she is innocent...........of what?........not running him over?..lol...I say not but was it criminal....our justice system says no...ok..I except that...as I did when they said NOT GUILTY in OJ'S murder trial...I shiver at that thought....so your right...............but she did take a life and was drinking 'some" right............OR ARE THE POLICE REPORTS WRONG??.......as the police and DA said this? but they do not show her intoxicated enough to win in court...............over .08........ why is that maybe she was never over .08 ....some say delay in testing..... which there was according to normal procedure hey you see the ellsworth woman killed in the paper by a MAN with a revoked lic...yesterday...they took his blood-breath IMMEDIATELY...at least they are making sure they do not drop the ball in that case...BUT in Jill's case others say cover up...I dont totally go that far I think balls were dropped.. regardless....your right she is not guilty........ she is innocent not enough to charge her....but did kill a man in an accident. she will live with her truth...and the fact she was drinking....call THAT what u want....

OH an the AG'S office...lmao....I think you work in the profession? HANCOCK county maybe? cause ...any real citizen on the outside looking in knows the corrupt buddy system we have....=)

SCOLLINS....you may want to take your own advice for you have repeatedly called this young woman a MURDERER...Slander and defamation can come into play for you as well for she has not been charged, she has not been convicted so regardless of what anyone thinks..In the LAW's eyes, she is not a murderer!

I was not being rude or argumentative with you, I was trying to get you to see that you have gone overboard on this arcticle to the point where you are crossing the line...but we all know, you don't care..

No I am saying in regards to MR Smith saying she didn' hit him in the road and it was covered up that I am sure beacuase of the nature of the accident the investigators were able tell where the deceased was in the road when struck and if there was evidence she was in the wrong the report would have stated that. She is innocent of any criminal negligence until proven guilty. This isn't LA with high priced attorneys... don't give the attorneys of this area that much credit!

_ Thanks for the compliment.. I do not work in the profession. Just pretty educated.

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I hope you are not in a situation where you are chastized like this woman. There are many contributing factors in this accident, Jill, her passenger,the deceased who WAS intoxicated and in the road, the rain and fog.....

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And on the Trooper, it Sheriff's Deptarment got the call, maybe beacuse the Staties were not in the area to cover in time OR perhaps it isn't the States' jurisdiction.

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If you feel the legal BAC limit is too high then lobby to get it lowered.... Make something positive come of your sons death.

Tikitorch:

What I was referring to is this accident which was a fatality, and she was not tested for sometime later after the accident, it needed to be done right away and I'm sure that the level would have been allot differant.

I assume she had the right to refuse a breathalyzer. Which means they have to draw blood at the hospital? Can she refuse to give blood also? I did grand jury awhile back. If there wasn’t enough evidence to bring it to trial then maybe you should blame the grand jury. Grand jury are not hand picked by the defense. They are random.

With a fatality it is mandatory that a test is done immediately, but in this case for some odd reason no test was administered for some time later.

h and by the way her blood alcohol was .07 4-5 hours later.

SOLOTHOUGHTS your right...I DO NOT CARE BECAUSE YOUR THE ONLY ONE THAT SAID i WAS CROSSING THE LINE...which I was not...byut good day to you..and I can call her what "think she is" I think she is a murder...I have that right and please when you say innocent cause she is not charged yet or not found guilty...come on solothoughts what did you do to the man in HAMPDEN accused of having sex with a minor.....you hung that man to dry without his trial or anything beyond a charge,,,,remember jill was charged in this accident and the case was dropped....this could happen in the hampden mans case .....and thats how you and I and others got so nasty with one another YOU attacked a man on a "charge" for having sex with a minor that could have been 16 ,,,or 2 we didnt and dont know now the details...or his fate...so maybe give everyone the same presumption.

Tiki.....he WAS intoxicated yes.......to quote you..........but we will never know if she WAS because of the delay in testing....FACT....and it was not a compliment but your words show your friends with the staff in Ellsworth thats another FACT....The DA'S office will see they are not above the law....after all wasn't our fine Hancock County DA sued for sexual harassment while in office.. and lost the case 85,000 being paid to his victim...YES....why is he still in office...lol..because people like the ones that investigated this case...look the other way for their own and the likes of them in my opinion...but whatever...you have your opinion that she was right........ I only hope your mom or dad or child don't suffer the same fate and is killed by a person just under the legal limit hours later....some may laugh at you.

Arthur..........do not put alot of faith in our Governor...he is best of friends with the DA...........

scollins...Just to let you know, I have never posted on a man in Hampden, I think you should re check your info, I don't have any idea what arcticle you are even talking about!

I am not saying either way of guilt or innocence on this young lady. I do not have anything to base an opinion on other than this arcticle and the boy's family comments.

I would like to say this..Last year I was reading the BDN and on the front page was a young man who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and recieved like 3 months in jail. Mind you this boy drove off a bridge killing 3 people while under the influnce of intoxicants..I then flip through the same exact paper to the court news where low and behold there was a man in I believe Dover Foxcroft who was given 180 days in jail and a 5000.00 fine, his jail sentence was reduced to I believe just 45 days....This man....He shot a damn Turkey out of season!

So yeah, I don't agree with this, I feel sorry for the family, and I know they are hurting and all I said was they will get justice in due time if it is warranted. I hope they do get justice..I am just saying you can't walk around calling people a murdered when they haven't been convicted..

And again...I have never in all the comments I have posted, posted on a man with a minor! I can't even find the arcticle you are refering to!

anyone read the article where that poor Ellsworth lady was killed in the passenger seat the other day... while it appears the man that was driving with a revoked license? should he not be charged...for killing her...after all she should have known better to be riding with him...even though we do not know her motives or why she did or if she was a victim in any way...like the guy walking in the road some say was his own fault let Jill go...well let this guy go the other woman his passenger should have known better then to ride with him right....NOT hang that man if he makes it

They both had alcohol in their blood stream and were on the road driveing Scollins327 ,so both should be charged for these incidences plain and simple.

ANONON ,,,,,,,,,,,how do you charge a dead lady....? AND NOT ONE REPORT TO DATE has said this lady his passenger was drinking...regarding the ellsworth lady killed....and if your talking aboutt he other article of JILL how do you charge a dead man? they paid the price of death stupid

and if you meant both drivers should be charged thats even more stupid that they were not!!!! ....not to call you stupid im not doing that I meant its stupid....but I missed the piece before that I hit enter before I was done....

Scollins327 you say there was a selay, but the lab people do have brains and formulas to track what her BAC was at the time of the accident. They take the time the blood was drawn and figure out what it was a the time it happened. This is not uncommon, often the driver has to be transported to a hospital beause of injuries an the blood is not taken until then. The police are not the one who draw the blood it is a medical professional due to legal reasons. AN officer takes custody of the blood and it is then sent to the crime lab for processing. Maybe you should read up a little more.

Tikitorch, but her blood was not drawn for close to 4 hours after the accident, they legally have to report what her BAC is at the time of the blood draw, they can NOT make any kinds of assumptions as to what her BAC was at the time of the accident because that is all they would be, assumptions. They need factual evidence in order to charge her, and because they delayed in doing ANY KIND of test, ie: breathalizer, sobriety test, etc, they cannot charge her with OUI or really anything else for that matter. That was negligence on the part of the officer. Does that make Jill innocent? No, does it make her luck? That would be an astounding, YES!

Scollins327

Are you mentally incapeable of reading posts here:

Let me slooooowly present this to you again. OK?

The man that was driveing Lisa Should be Cahrged

The Woman that hit the Guy in Trenton should be charged

Is that clear enough for you?

If you want I can post it a few more times so that it can sloooowly sink into your brain.

Scollins327:

GIVE IT UP :

YOUR CONFUSION TO PEOPLES COMMENTS MAKES YOU AN IDIOT, AND THEN WHEN PEOPLE FLIP OUT AT YOU BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE COMMENT MEANS YOU CHANGE YOUR TUNE. YOUR EITHER DOING IT INTENTIONALLY OR YOU REALLY ARE MISSING THE POINT OF PEOPLES COMMENTS. EITHER WAY DOESN'T MAKE YOU SEEM TO IN TUNE WITH THE ARTICLES.

PAY MORE ATTENTION

Tikitorch YOU are WRONG it is against the state law to calculate ones blood ,,,,you are what you "blow in the machine or show in your blood" at that time! science CAN not calculate your blood by science or guessing what it was at the time of the accident... otherwise many people would be in jail .. thats why years back and still now people who leave the scene of a "drunking" accident...they rush to the home by foot and crack a beer...and if the officer comes along they say i was sober I only had 3 beers since i got home....police and science would have calculated things then....so your dead WRONG science can only go by the intoxilizer 5000 breath machine or your blood ,when it is drawn its not retroactive ..LOL

ANONON .....................YOUR TRULY STUPID. and re read your post's LOL....and go kidnap a clue

JDOGGG is 100% correct! read........... Maine Statue .............AND think about this Tiki she was ..06....... 4 hours after the crash..IF they could do as you claim................she would have been about a .15 -.18 at the time of crash according to the science of alcohol leaving our body....so I wish that was the case that they could.....and this person JILL who I feel is a murder would be in JAIL not raising and endangering and teaching her child with her life style

Scollins327:

Did you go to school ?

By your comments would lead people to believe that you are a adolesant who is clearly not able to read into sombodys comment.

Can you read?

The 2 that I was referring to in my post was:

Once again I will explaine it to you and if you don't get it this time then you are clearly an individual that needs more education.

The Man that was driveing Lisa had a revoked license and with his driveing history includeing OUI's and being that he had clearly been drinking needs to be charged.

The woman that hit the young man in trenton who they claim had alcohol in her system should be charged.

If the cops were doing what they were supposed to do then I can assure you that the level of alcohol would have been much higher.

Don't you think it's kind of suspicious that they didn't take her blood till hours later.

As I said before when there is a accident that involves a fatality, the first thing that the officers should do is have a professional administer taking a blood sample to check for intoxicants and alcohol.

When there is an accident with as bad as these 2 cases there is ambulatory staff that is able to do that at the scene.

When a person is pulled over for OUI are they not tested right away unless they refuse? The times that they do refuse then they automatically lose their licence an additional year to their suspention for OUI.

So untill you stop administering adolesant behavior in your comments which you are clearly spewing out jibberish bullcrap, I'll read all the other meaningfull comments and scroll over yours. Kidnap a Clue? Clearly still a child.

OMG scollins kidnap a clue? Never heard that one. I love it.. LOL

or shout in caps....as I WAS ABOVE not should....see thats a real typo....you from down east?

Tiki come on spell driveing? lmao driving? retard

COVER UP.....and who you know...and work for saved her life...

THERE IS SOME PEOPLE THAT DONT KNOW THAT WHEN THERE IS A DEATH LIKE THIS THEY CAN RUN THERE MOUTHS TO PROTECT THE GUILTY THEY SHOULD KNOW THE BLOW LIMIT AS THEY HAVE I WOULD IMAGINE DONE IT ENOUGH TIMES OR THEY MUST DRIVE THAT WAY SO THEY KNOW PRECICLY HOW MUCH TO DRINK AND DRIVE BUT WHEN SOME ONE FINALY GETS HURT OR KILLED I BELIEVE SO CLOSE TO THE LIMIT OR NOT THERE SHOULD BE AN OUI CHARGE AND IF THERE IS NOT THERE IS FOWL PLAY , CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT BUT THERE IS SOME THING WRONG WHERE THERE SHOULD BE A WRONGFULL DEATH CHARGE , AND IF THERE SAYING SHE WAS NOT INTOXICATED SHE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING ANY WAY SHE CANT DRIVE IF SHE CARES LESS WHAT IS IN THE HIGH WAY , THEY ALL KNOW THAT BUT DO WHAT YOU CAN AND SAY WHAT YOU CAN IT IS STILL MANSLAUGHTER , NO MATTER WHAT THE BACK GROUND RECORD IS . WHEN SOME ONE DRIVES AND DRINKDS AND KILLS SOME ONE AND A JURY TURNS THE CASE DOWN THERE IS SOME THING WRONG YOU CANT TELL ME THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH PROOF TO PUT HER AWAY. BUT IT IS NOT OVER WITH YET SAY WHAT YOU WANT RUN YOUR STUPIDITY TALK IT OVER BLOW YOUR MOUTHS BUT IT IS STILL A KILLING AND MY SON WAS KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER . MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHERE WHERE FROM WHERE WE GO WHERE WE STAY IT STILL IS A THE WORD OF THE INVESTOGATERS WHO WAITED TO LONG SURE THEY SIAD THEY DONE WHAT THEY HAD TO AND ARE PLEASED WITH THE OUT COME . OF COURSE THEY ARE . THERE A BUNCH OF CROOKS WORKING FOR THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN MY OPINION THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT TO AND WHO THEY WANT TO ANY TIME . IF I WAS STOPPED FOR SPEEDING IN ELLSWORTH I WILL BE PAYING A FINE IF THEY SMELLED ANY ALCOHAL I WOULD BE CHARGED FOR OUI NO MATTER WHAT THE LIMIT OR TESTCAME OUT I WOULD BE TAKEN I KNOW I HAVE FRIENDS WHO KNOW THAT AS THEY HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT BUT WHEN YOU HIT AND KILLSOME ONE WITH ALCOHAL IN YOUR SYSTEM AND LET GO OF ALL CHARGES BECAUSE OF A LATE TEST AND ALL THIS BULLSHIT THAT WENT ON THAT KNIGHT IT SHOWS WHAT THE WHOLE BUNCH UP THERE AMOUNTS TO . AND ALL HER FRIENDS CAN KISS WHAT THEY DONT DARE TO KICK,

arthursmithsr...The grand jury chose not to indict, I believe because of lack of evidence as a result of negligence on the part of the officer. That does not however mean that all is said and done. Those of us that are close to the case and KNOW what happened first hand know that there was negligence and with the right investigators you can prove negligence. This kind of thing should not and can not continue to happen. The grand jury choosing not to indict does not mean that some form of justice will not happen, you do have other options. You have every right, and again those of us that know this case first hand, know that you have a civil case against Jill for wrongful death. That is your choice if you choose to try and get some form of justice, and know that you do have a lot of people standing behind you.

I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE FOLLOWING THIS AND CAN SEE WHAT WENT ON , AND YES I AM GOING TO PURSUE THIS TILL THE END IF IT TAKES ME OUT . I AM GOING TO CONTINUE AND I AM GOING TO DO EVERY THING I CAN TO GET JUSTICE. THERE WAS A MURDER AND SHE IS STILL ON THE STREETS,

ArthurSmithSr. I just want to tell you how terribly sorry I am for your loss. I do hope you get the justice your son deserves. Keep fighting sir.

Prosecutor: Drunk Driver Hit Drunk Pedestrian

Almost a year ago, a drunk driver fatally struck a woman on Water Street in lower Manhattan. George Anderson, who was found to be drunk, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. Florence Cioffi, the victim, had been out with friends, and prosecutors had said Anderson was driving 60 MPH (the speed limit is 30 MPH). Now the Post reports that Anderson managed to get a break because Cioffi's blood alcohol content was apparently twice the legal limit. Anderson's lawyer said, "An intensive investigation by the defense and prosecutors revealed she probably stepped out from between two parked cars." Anderson, who could have faced up to 7 years in prison, will get "eight weekends in jail, do 200 hours of community service and pay a $350 fine" in his plea deal.

By Jen Chung in News on January 8, 2009 3:42 PM Comments 30 1 Recommended Vote [ Share + ] add to digg

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Comments (30) [rss]

[1] | untilshesleeps...

Ugh, this is so unfair. Regardless of the victim being drunk, his actions (drunk, double the speed limit) should have been labeled intent to kill. The fact that he succeeded in his attempt should land him a life sentence.

Reply | January 8, 2009 3:48 PM [ report this ] felixthecat replied to comment from untilshesleeps...

yes, agreed he was drunk and behind the wheel and should be put in jail for at least 5 years. it seems they are faulting the victim when at least she was walking and not driving drunk. sickening.

Reply | January 8, 2009 3:59 PM [ report this ] [3] | Jen Chung

It's a bad message, like, "If you're a drunk pedestrian, you're asking for it."

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:03 PM [ report this ] [4] | flynn110

i always thought that if i wanted to kill someone the best way would be to runt hem over. case and point.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:05 PM [ report this ] [5] | RedWhiteandBrooklyn

What judge accepted this plea deal? That's less punishment than he should have received for driving while drunk and doing 60 in a 30 zone! Maybe I never get picked for jury duty because the defense lawyers can read my mind.

Watch: the family of the murdered woman will go after the bar where she was drinking with a multi-million dollar civil suit, along with a charge of negligence & the owner & bartender will get hit worse than the scumbag who killed her!

What a legal system!

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:06 PM [ report this ] [6] | fotoaddict

how can one be twice the legal limit when there's no legal limit for walking?

in other words, why should the standard applied to driving be a consideration for someone who isn't driving?

and twice the legal limit? 0.08 * 2 = 0.16. I know plenty of people who double that on at least a monthly basis, and they all walk straight enough not to be run over.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:07 PM [ report this ] RedWhiteandBrooklyn replied to comment from fotoaddict

Maybe public intoxication, at most... but that isn't something that someone deserves to be murdered for.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:09 PM [ report this ] [8] | JacqueMehoff

who needs a gun anymore? buy up or steal cars to kill people.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:10 PM [ report this ] [9] | ides_of_march

If you have a few drinks and step onto the street afterwards you're fair game now it would seem.

This is a disgraceful decision. I wonder how the judge would feel if one of his family members was splattered across the road by some drunk at at 60 mph.

The driver should have been charged with murder.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:19 PM [ report this ] mrguy replied to comment from ides_of_march

i think the issue isn't that she was drunk, but that she may have stepped out from between two parked cars into the road.

he's going to jail because he was driving drunk, and that's good. he definitely bears a large part of the culpability for her death.

but as somebody who drives in the city, I myself hope i wouldn't be charged with murder if i accidentally hit a pedestrian who was jaywalking at night. especially uptown where i live, jaywalking is an epedemic, and new yorkers tend to wear black jackets, which makes it even harder to dodge jaywalkers after sundown.

I'm not saying this woman deserved to die, or it's not a tragedy, but let's tone down the rhetoric here about the city giving drivers carte blanche to run over drunks.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:37 PM [ report this ] untilshesleeps... replied to comment from mrguy

but he may have had the sense to stop or swerve out of the way when she stepped in the street had he not been clouded with intoxication. also, anyone driving in the city should know better than to drive 60 mph on city streets.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:43 PM [ report this ] [10] | mrguy

This is a morally murky case; Solomon himself would lose sleep over it. But regardless of how much of the blame lies on either the victim or the drunk driver...

can somebody explain why he gets 8 weekends instead of just 16 days straight in prison? that seems so bizarre to me.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:19 PM [ report this ] kane replied to comment from mrguy

Because he's rich enough to get a good lawyer.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:56 PM [ report this ] [11] | woodendesigner

Ok so let me get this straight. The guy that killed someone because he was drunk and speeding get a few weekends in jail, some community service and a $350 fine while the woman that obeyed the law by not driving and may have made a mistake by stepping out between two cars gets death. What a joke. Anyone that was involved with getting this guy that deal is evil. I bet if he was driving the speed limit the woman would still be alive today.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:22 PM [ report this ] [12] | felixthecat

The Manhattan DA is too old and needs to get out. This case is an outrage. The message that I received is when drunk, don't walk but go behind the wheel. What an offensive sentence.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:35 PM [ report this ] [14] | Clarice City

Walking while intoxicated doesn't recklessly endanger the lives of others. Unless, of course, you're the size of an SUV and can walk at 60 MPH.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:41 PM [ report this ] mrguy replied to comment from Clarice City

if you stumble into the street while drunk and a driver swerves to avoid hitting you, you damn well just did endanger the lives of others

Reply | January 8, 2009 6:04 PM [ report this ] Clarice City replied to comment from mrguy

All the more reason to not drive drunk!

Reply | January 9, 2009 10:51 AM [ report this ] [16] | BxTiger

While I think his sentence is a bit light, the dead woman has culpability for jaywalking. While not often enforced, it is a violation of law to cross the street outside the crosswalks. That's why he had such limited liability.

Reply | January 8, 2009 4:51 PM [ report this ] Gwinny replied to comment from BxTiger

... and so her punishment for jaywalking is death??

This is sickening. I hope the SUV @*&#^!, his douchebag lawyer, and the dumbass judge all rot in hell for this morally corrupt decision.

Reply | January 8, 2009 5:31 PM [ report this ] mrguy replied to comment from Gwinny

gwinny,

sadly, yes. you can get killed jaywalking whether the driver is drunk and speeding or sober and doing the speed limit. nothing excuses this guy's behavior, but if she jaywalked, she did do something that contributed to her own death.

this is just one of those cases with no winners, and no real silver lining.

Reply | January 8, 2009 5:38 PM [ report this ] Gwinny replied to comment from mrguy

I think you might have misinterpreted my question... trust me, as a cyclist I am not a fan of jaywalkers and am fully aware of the risks they are taking. I was merely reacting to the previous commenter's implication that she got what was coming to her.

Reply | January 10, 2009 6:42 PM [ report this ] [21] | Son of Spam

As disconcerting as this story is, I was really saddened to see that before the plea bargain, he was only going to get up to 7 years in prison for taking another person's life.

I know there was no intent, and I'm sure other punishment would have come by means of a civil suit, but still...7 years max? Seems a little light to me.

Reply | January 8, 2009 6:18 PM [ report this ] [22] | drewmaster

I don't understand how he's getting off so easy! Couldn't the prosecution argue that a sober driver would have been able to avoid the pedestrian even if said pedestrian was drunk and stumbling into the street? I'd like to think that I could brake in time, or at least swerve. Driving double the speed limit and drunk should be automatic long jail time, regardless of whether or not you kill someone, and even more regardless of whether the person killed was drunk. Acting like that shows a disregard for human life. What's it going to take, a sober teenager walking home from school to get killed for justice to be served? This is ridiculous...

Reply | January 8, 2009 7:37 PM [ report this ] [23] | NannyState

What if this guy was like a serial killer, seeking out obviously drunk pedestrians to run over? He gets a slap on the wrist each time? Who agreed to this plea arrangement? Some prosecutors are little better than the jerks that commit crimes.

Reply | January 8, 2009 10:01 PM [ report this ] [24] | savedbyzero

Is he losing is license too?

He should -- and there should be a clause in that plea agreement that says if he's found DWI anytime in the future, he can be prosecuted for this manslaughter.

Reply | January 8, 2009 10:27 PM [ report this ] Clarice City replied to comment from savedbyzero

These people never loose thier licences.

How many times has Gothamist posted stories about people being run dwon by drivers with either no licence at all, a suspended one or a licence recieved after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

Reply | January 9, 2009 10:54 AM [ report this ] [27] | Clarice City

I had a roomate with two DUIs on her record, as I foound out only after riding in a car with that idiot, and she never lost her privilage to drive.

In fact, two of her closest friends wouldn't get into a car with her because she actually continued to drive home from bars after four or five drinks. Scarry people out there.

Reply | January 9, 2009 10:59 AM [ report this ] Brooklynbobby replied to comment from Clarice City

I had a roommate in Florida who went to jail for 10 days after his 3rd DUI conviction. This was 20 years ago. He still has his licence and still drives . . . to and from his neighborhood watering hole.

Reply | January 9, 2009 2:31 PM [ report this ] [29] | endthereign

i guess this @*&#^! knew how the laws in this country work - that drunk driving, although one of the biggest problems, isn't punished the way it should be

IGNITION INTERLOCK !!

this technology exists ... how easy it would be for car manufacturers to put it in cars! so why not ?

Reply | January 10, 2009 10:07 AM [ report this ]

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