Woman who has passed out twice while driving is still on the road

[matcom]

<snip>

Even though she is believed to have caused two major car accidents by passing out at the wheel during the past two months, Mary Smith is still legally able to drive, and might be for a while.
She's even still eligible to drive a school bus -- which she was doing when she was involved in the first accident.

Michelle Rayburn, spokeswoman for Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, said the process of suspending Smith's license -- or the license belonging to anyone affected by a medical condition -- can take weeks while being handled by police, doctors and the Office of Motor Vehicles.

As a result, both Smith's personal and commercial driver's licenses remain valid, Rayburn said.

The system is so subjective, she said, that a person's driving status isn't reviewed unless a request is made by a person's immediate family, doctor or law enforcement.

"Unless we get something from somebody, the Office of Motor Vehicles has no way to know if a person is having a hard time driving," she said.

No such request was made after the first accident in which Smith apparently blacked out, on Oct. 25, Rayburn said.

In that incident, Smith, 58, drove her empty school bus into a set of gas pumps at the Mobil station, 6305 Airline Highway, about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured, and Smith was not ticketed, though the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, where she has been a bus driver for 14 years, placed her on paid leave.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/121404/new_wrecks001.shtml

[Pachamama]

1. Man who stole Presidency Twice is still in Oval Office - Just as bad -

Some would say he's passed out at the wheel too!

:hi:

Nothing surprises me anymore...as unbelievable as it may sound....

[RPM]

2. Similar case in Pittsburgh Area

Jack M. Smith, a Bethel Park businessman, is going to jail for three to six years for insisting on his right to drive. It took a prison sentence Tuesday from Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Manning to bring a sensible conclusion to this tragic case.

Two years after rear-ending and killing a pregnant woman and her mother on Route 51 in West Mifflin, and one year after seriously injuring two other drivers, Smith, who has a tendency to black out, was found guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of reckless endangerment.

He was lucky that he wasn't found guilty of the most serious charges against him -- homicide by vehicle. Because he was unconscious when he plowed into the car containing Sherri Ann Zeis and Patricia Schick, it wasn't possible for Judge Manning to convict him of bad intentions in his nonjury trial.

Despite overwhelming evidence that his driving was a danger to the community, Smith considered it too much of an inconvenience to remove himself from the road. He was able to find doctors who didn't question his driving ability, despite his recurring bouts of unconsciousness.

Full article at:

http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20030905edsmith0905p3.asp