Was the Tow Truck Driver's Tragic Death Preventable?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the tragic death of a tow truck driver who was dragged by a fleeing vehicle. Participants explore the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the behavior of the SUV driver and the potential psychological state during the event. The conversation touches on themes of accountability, media coverage, and the implications of the incident.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the SUV driver was aware of the tow truck driver being dragged, suggesting that panic may have influenced her actions.
  • Others argue that the driver should have heard screams or the sound of dragging, raising doubts about her awareness during the incident.
  • A few participants speculate on the psychological impact of the situation, suggesting a panic attack could explain the driver's behavior.
  • There are discussions about the potential legal consequences for the SUV driver, with some asserting that fleeing the scene constitutes a crime, regardless of intent.
  • Concerns are raised about the media's focus on the personal history of the SUV driver, with some participants arguing that such details are irrelevant to the incident itself.
  • Some participants express frustration over the sensationalism in media reporting, questioning the prioritization of certain narratives over others in tragic events.
  • There is a mention of the increasing frequency of vehicle repossessions, suggesting a broader context for the incident.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a range of views regarding the SUV driver's awareness and culpability, with no consensus on whether her actions were intentional or a result of panic. The discussion remains unresolved on the implications of her behavior and the appropriateness of media coverage.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying opinions on the relevance of the SUV driver's personal history to the incident, indicating a divide in perspectives on the role of media in reporting such events.

BobG
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Earlier this week, a tow truck driver was preparing to tow away a vehicle in an apartment complex. In the middle of hooking the cable from the SUV to the tow truck in order to drag it up onto the flatbed, the driver ran out, jumped into her car, and drove off. She snapped the cable from the truck and it coiled around the tow truck driver's leg and he was dragged for nearly two miles before finally coming loose from the cable. Articles of clothing, other personal possesions, and blood were spread over the entire route.

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Person_Dragged_By_Vehicle_On_Platte_116748584.html


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5r0ySOn3CE

I think it's hard to say she definitely knew he was being dragged behind the SUV (as explained by her cousin in an accompanying video). But her route and behavior definitely suggest that she was trying to flee the scene. She drove through the apartment complex's shuffleboard area and through a horseshoe's sand pit before exiting the apartment complex and I don't think she knew where she was fleeing to, given a rather strange route after leaving the complex. After the tow truck driver came loose, she cut through the median and reversed her direction, stopped in a shopping center parking lot to free the cable from her SUV, and then abandoned the vehicle in a strange neighborhood.

Regardless, that was a horrible way to die and a horrible scene for the people who witnessed the dragging.
 
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I find it hard to believe she didn't hear the guys screams or just the sound of him being dragged.
 
It's all quite bizarre and rare. I wonder if anything was intentional. She likely had a panic attack and it is quite hard to comprehend events in those situations.
 
rootX said:
It's all quite bizarre and rare. I wonder if anything was intentional. She likely had a panic attack and it is quite hard to comprehend events in those situations.

Even if she didn't realize he was there, she still deserves a long prison sentence.
 
pergradus said:
Even if she didn't realize he was there, she still deserves a long prison sentence.

I am not qualified to tell what she deserves. But, I can certainly see her fault in attempting to flee with the vehicle. I don't know what kind of charges can be made just for fleeing.
 
rootX said:
It's all quite bizarre and rare. I wonder if anything was intentional. She likely had a panic attack and it is quite hard to comprehend events in those situations.

I think the panic attack is quite likely. There's no way she could have expected the tow truck driver to get caught in the cables. While it's not in the posted stories, another witness said that while the driver was going through the sand pit, etc, the tow truck driver realized she'd have to head for the exit and tried to cut her off. There's no way either the driver or the tow truck driver expected the cable, which was zipping around behind the SUV every which way, to wind around the tow truck driver's leg.

You'd think human nature would cause the woman to look back to see what the tow truck driver was doing (getting in his truck to give chase, calling on his cell phone, etc), but it's hard to know. She might have just been so intent on getting away from the scene that she never looked back. Having other drivers try to get her attention may have just freaked her out even more.

Or she did look back and what she saw really, really freaked her out!
 
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Oh goodness.
OP article said:
Editor's Note: KKTV is aware of the article that many viewers have found from a Denver newspaper, naming Detra Farries as the wife of a man convicted of a hit-and-run a few years ago in Denver. It has not been confirmed whether this is the same Detra Farries. We will continue to report information we gather once it is confirmed.
 
Yes, she seems to have been cursed by interesting times.

Who is Detra Farries?

32 years old; 8 kids, the first when she was 15. A brother stabbed to death at her home. A husband whom she's currently divorcing, convicted of a fatal hit-and-run accident, plus she's been caught driving with a suspended license twice in the last the 8 years.
 
BobG said:
Yes, she seems to have been cursed by interesting times.

Who is Detra Farries?

32 years old; 8 kids, the first when she was 15. A brother stabbed to death at her home. A husband whom she's currently divorcing, convicted of a fatal hit-and-run accident, plus she's been caught driving with a suspended license twice in the last the 8 years.

Oh my god, this is what I hate about the media these days. WHO CARES what her myspace page says and where she went to college and whether or not she's getting divorced.
 
  • #10
rootX said:
I am not qualified to tell what she deserves. But, I can certainly see her fault in attempting to flee with the vehicle. I don't know what kind of charges can be made just for fleeing.

She would get charged for what she did, even if it's unintentional it's still a crime.

pergradus said:
I find it hard to believe she didn't hear the guys screams or just the sound of him being dragged.

I doubt it is that normal to be screaming in a situation like this for the guy, or I wouldn't expect to be, so it's not easy to tell whether she must have heard anything. Perhaps he wasn't even conscious. I also doubt you'd hear a body being dragged after your car that easily, especially in a stressed situation like that.
 
  • #11
Pengwuino said:
Oh my god, this is what I hate about the media these days. WHO CARES what her myspace page says and where she went to college and whether or not she's getting divorced.

In that case, why care about the report at all?
 
  • #12
Jarle said:
She would get charged for what she did, even if it's unintentional it's still a crime.

Sure ...
Newai said:
In that case, why care about the report at all?

Her family history or personal life details are irrelevant for the purpose of reporting.
 
  • #13
Newai said:
In that case, why care about the report at all?

Because someone was killed. That is important, not that she took economics 101 3 years ago at some city college.
 
  • #14
BobG said:
There's no way either the driver or the tow truck driver expected the cable, which was zipping around behind the SUV every which way, to wind around the tow truck driver's leg.
If tow truck driver didn't know how broken towing cables behave, he shouldn't have been allowed out to play with a tow truck.

I agreee the SUV driver couldn't necessarily be expected to know.
 
  • #15
If some inner city woman was murdered the same day, who gets the most press?

Grotesque wins. "It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry."
 
  • #16
Pengwuino said:
Because someone was killed. That is important, not that she took economics 101 3 years ago at some city college.

Then I am missing something here. You watched the video, right? Because there is a whole run of problems in her life, according to the video news report in the quote you replied to, that might offer some explanation for her behavior.
 
  • #18
rootX said:
Her family history or personal life details are irrelevant for the purpose of reporting.
It's completely relevant and the whole point of journalism.
 

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