This pisses me off... Man sentenced for Ventura, CA street race that ended in death. A judge Thursday sentenced a man to spend 180 days in county jail and perform 200 hours of community service in connection with a street race that resulted in the other driver’s death on Victoria Avenue in Ventura. Robert Florine, 53, of Ventura also was placed on 36 months of formal probation. He was not ordered to pay a fine, but a hearing will be held at a later date regarding payment of financial restitution, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Young said. In January, Florine entered a no-contest plea to a charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the street racing death of Afghanistan war veteran Travis Lee, 27, of Camarillo. Lee was a 10-year Army Reserve veteran and the married father of an infant son. On June 20, Lee suffered fatal injuries in a collision with an SUV after racing his motorcycle with Florine’s Chevy Corvette. Florine was initially charged by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office with felony vehicular manslaughter. The felony charge carried a potentially stiffer sentence than the misdemeanor — up to several years in state prison. But in August, the state Attorney General’s Office took over prosecution of the case at the request of the District Attorney’s Office, which had a conflict of interest in part because Florine’s daughter previously worked there. In September, the Attorney General’s Office re-filed the case as a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, angering Lee’s family and friends. On Thursday, the judge said Florine must surrender by March 18 to begin his jail term.
He caused someone to die and gets six months jailtime. That would piss me off too. But, not to be the devils advocate, the other guy was racing too.
Exactly. I think it's way too light too, but not because the other racer died. If it had been someone not involved then those feelings would be warranted. I think the punitive damages should be large and they should go to non-participants and innocent victims of street racing.
See this is why I don't see this story as a bad thing. I am sure the 6 months was part of some kind of plea bargain. Cudos the that guys attorney, looks like he did his job. At the end of the day, the guy who died was racing too. He rolled the dice, and he lost more...but that was the chance that he took. This story would anger me had it been an innocent bystander. Since it wasn't, I have a hard time feeling sorry for the guy who died street racing...'Cause that was the choice he made!
Thats horrible a local guy here in Waco got 5 years for hitting and severly hurting a guy on a motorcylce ( I know the driver) he has to serve at least 1.3 years before eligible for parole.
No matter how long in jail, he has to bear that in his heart the rest of his life. If I were him, i'de prolly drink myself into a coma.
everytime you twist the throttle you roll the dice. I dont' think the guy in the vette should have been charged with anything but I don't know the WHOLE story, traffic and road conditions, time of day, experience. There's too many variable to base a judgement on such a small amount of information.
I look at this just a tad different. 6 months is a litttle steep for street racing. Regrettably, it was because the other driver died....by his own choice.....that made the vette driver suffer. BUT...the vette driver was wrong for even being in a stret race on an unsafe street. The one that died had a choice, he WAS not forced by the other driver. I turn down mustangs and imports all the time that try to "tempt" me to get into it. For all we know the motorcycle may have "tempted" the vette into the race. >>
I see both side of this as well... lets face it the street are not where you need to show off your vehicles attributes... I am not taking going 80 in 60... but way too many times someone get hurt or dies because they cannot control the urge... imo that is what the vette driver got punished for, because he was there & participating. I am sure if he had more of an active part in the accident he would have not been facing man slaughter charges.. it sucks all the away around... & having to live with the fact that one had died in a street race he was involved in will stay with him for the rest of is life.. even if the guy on the bike just lost it ...
Every time you get on a bike or get in your car you take the chance on dying. and the Guy in the Vette Didn't cause him to crash the Guy on the bike Hit an SUV! YOu want to street race you get what you got coming to you!
for the people who want to lock us away with the key i laugh, so no one has every done something illegal? if you run out of talent and were racing, how the hell is it my fault? i didnt make you crash
