Small Child Dies

Last weekend a man and his wife were on Boone Lake riding in a ski boat with their little three year-old boy sitting at the front of the boat. The father made a sharp turn to go back and meet his parents who were on the water in their boat.

The little boy fell off when the boat turned and they ran over him and the motor struck and killed him. He was wearing a life jacket but it made no difference. The father dove into the water and rescued the baby and it was taken to the hospital but was dead.

No charges will be filed against the father because it was an "accident."

Here is my question: It is against the law, in TN, for passengers to ride on the bow, sides, or stern of a boat and the fine can be up to $500. If the baby was sitting so close to the front that he was thrown into the water, can that be considered riding on the bow?

I know the parents must be devastated but, IMO it is both negligent and irresponsible to allow a child so small to ride in a position that it cannot be protected from falling overboard. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic but I keep asking myself, "What were they thinking?"

bassin_bug, I know you are in law enforcement but really, what good would it do to charge this devastated father with any crime?


Indeed, a very tragic story.

[QUOTE=Tyme2fish;379524]bassin_bug, I know you are in law enforcement but really, what good would it do to charge this devastated father with any crime?

Indeed, a very tragic story.[/QUOTE]



Wrong, I am NOT in law enforcement and haven't been since I graduated college. I'm not saying charge the father with a crime, just puzzled as to why SOMEBODY didn't have the foresight to see something very bad could happen.

Sometimes bad things happen. It's a sad story regardless of who was to blame. This reminds me of when I was growing up and we would ride in the back of pick up trucks sitting on the tire wells going 60 miles an hour down the highway.

[QUOTE=bassin_bug;379548]Wrong, I am NOT in law enforcement and haven't been since I graduated college. I'm not saying charge the father with a crime, just puzzled as to why SOMEBODY didn't have the foresight to see something very bad could happen.[/QUOTE]
Well, obviously the father didn't, or the kid wouldn't have been there. So, who could have seen something bad about to happen,and stopped it? Somebody else out on the lake? Hardly. I can picture how that would come out, with someone hollering at the guy to get his kid off the bow, and I doubt that he would have said, "Oh, thank you! I'll be sure to be safe from now on!" He probably would have given them a one-finger salute and kept on. So that basically leaves law enforcement. Stretched as thin as they are, you can't blame them for not being there.

There's nothing puzzling about people doing stupid things. It happens every day, on virtually every body of water in America.

[QUOTE=Tyme2fish;379524]bassin_bug, I know you are in law enforcement but really, what good would it do to charge this devastated father with any crime?


Indeed, a very tragic story.[/QUOTE]

What good would it do charge the father? In my opinion, possibly a lot of good and I believe they should throw the book at him. Why? He was negligent in the death of that child and should be held accountable. Prosecuting him might stop this from happening again. If they had been in a car and the kid was sitting on the dashboard and was killed, he would be in jail. Period. No questions asked. We may not be able to make being dumb illegal, but, we can make dumb acts illegal and then maybe the dumb people would think a little before acting. This is worthy of a manslaughter charge at the minimum.

Guys, BB didn't say the guy should be charged in his post. But like Donger said, he was negligent and should be held accountable. Being ignorant of the law doesn't mean you shouldn't be or won't be charged if you break it. I don't know what the guy was thinking but i can tell you this: I have a 3 year old little girl and it will be a long, cold day in Hell before she will ride anywhere in a boat she's not supposed to be. She also won't be riding far enough out of reach where i can't put my hand on her while I'm driving the boat, period. She's been out one time with me and the wife and she rode in the center bench seat with my wife's arm around her. Will charging the guy make him feel any better or worse? Probably not. Charge him, convict him if he did wrong, and make him do some community service speaking about the incident. Best thing that could happen is someone else learns from his mistake.

[QUOTE=RoadToad;379578]Well, obviously the father didn't, or the kid wouldn't have been there. So, who could have seen something bad about to happen,and stopped it? Somebody else out on the lake? Hardly. I can picture how that would come out, with someone hollering at the guy to get his kid off the bow, and I doubt that he would have said, "Oh, thank you! I'll be sure to be safe from now on!" He probably would have given them a one-finger salute and kept on. So that basically leaves law enforcement. Stretched as thin as they are, you can't blame them for not being there.

There's nothing puzzling about people doing stupid things. It happens every day, on virtually every body of water in America.[/QUOTE]

___________________

Is there anything puzzling about people writing stupid things?

I can think of someone, besides the father, who was on that boat and should have been watching over the child........THE MOTHER! If she had been, it wouldn't be necessary for a stranger to yell at them to get the child off the bow.

Since when is a "one finger salute" as deadly as watching a child get its brains chopped out with a propeller? The father may have flipped someone a bird but there is a good chance he would have thought about what he was doing.

"Here's Your Sign."

[QUOTE=bassin_bug;379676]___________________

Is there anything puzzling about people writing stupid things?

I can think of someone, besides the father, who was on that boat and should have been watching over the child........THE MOTHER! If she had been, it wouldn't be necessary for a stranger to yell at them to get the child off the bow.

Since when is a "one finger salute" as deadly as watching a child get its brains chopped out with a propeller? The father may have flipped someone a bird but there is a good chance he would have thought about what he was doing.

"Here's Your Sign."[/QUOTE]
Wow, that was one below the belt!

Please read the following very slowly, so that maybe you can understand it. The point I was trying to make was that the adult(s) on the boat were obviously too stupid to realize the danger the kid was in, or he wouldn't have been there, now would he? And if you really believe that the father would have changed his behavior based on some stranger's comments, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

You can keep the sign. It seems to fit you better.

[QUOTE=RoadToad;379685]Wow, that was one below the belt!

Please read the following very slowly, so that maybe you can understand it. The point I was trying to make was that the adult(s) on the boat were obviously too stupid to realize the danger the kid was in, or he wouldn't have been there, now would he? And if you really believe that the father would have changed his behavior based on some stranger's comments, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

You can keep the sign. It seems to fit you better.[/QUOTE]

LOL, Read this S-L-O-W-L-Y, I can read and understand most anything but I cannot read your mind; I keep seeing a blank page. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

I don't have to read slow to understand; my parents weren't brother and sister. I averaged 1,900 wpm with 96% comprehension rate when I took my last reading test in college; I can read an entire newspaper while you're still looking at the pictures.

What kind of a guy would try to sell another man's bridge in Brooklyn? I think you may be a politician in disguise. ````(),,,,,,, (Here, take a drag off this peace pipe).

My 2 childen are my responsibility and mine alone.:) I dont rely on anyone except my parents opinion.;) I wouldnt accept my child being in that situation. Everyone dont think like me and I can appreciate that.:)