Mars company co-owner pleads guilty to reckless driving in fatal Loudoun crash

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Mars company co-owner pleads guilty to reckless driving in fatal Loudoun crash

Jacqueline Badger Mars, the billionaire co-owner of the candy company Mars, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving Thursday in connection with an October fatal accident in Loudoun County.

Mars, 74, was given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine during a hearing in Loudoun County General District Court.

At the time of the Oct. 4 crash, Mars was driving a 2004 Porsche SUV on Route 50 in Aldie, according to authorities. Her vehicle crossed the center line, striking an eastbound minivan, authorities said.

Irene C. Ellisor, 86, of Huntsville, Tex., a passenger in the minivan, died at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the sheriff's office.

The driver, Ashley Blakeslee, who was eight months pregnant, was seriously injured and lost her unborn son as a result of the accident, according to Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Nicole Wittmann.

[Scott5114]

I'm sure she'll really miss that $2,500.

[jeffandnicole]

According to authorities, Mars told a witness who went to the scene of the accident that she had fallen asleep while driving. Tests revealed no trace of drugs, alcohol or medications that could have caused a blackout, according to Wittmann. Witnesses said that Mars was not speeding or driving erratically before the accident, according to authorities.

So where's the reckless driving?  She crossed over the center line.  Yes, her actions contributed to a death (or 2 deaths, including her unborn child).  But then again, the other driver who died wasn't wearing a seatbelt, which would've contributed to her death as well.

Careless driving?  Yes. 

Reckless driving?  Maybe my standard that I'm used to hearing isn't the standard used in Virginia, but based on the quoted paragraph, she wasn't reckless - just careless.

[cpzilliacus]

Reckless driving?  Maybe my standard that I'm used to hearing isn't the standard used in Virginia, but based on the quoted paragraph, she wasn't reckless - just careless.

This would not be news at all - except that Mrs. Mars and her family have given hundreds of thousands of dollars (maybe millions) to the anti-all-highways Piedmont Environmental Council.

The Virginia Department of Transportation proposed some significant safety improvements to have included the part of U.S. 50 where this crash happened.  Those projects were vigorously opposed by the PEC and its front groups, and the PEC emerged victorious over VDOT, thanks in large part to the money and the political muscle that the money pays for.

[NE2]

Sounds like a personal issue, CP.

[Brandon]

Reckless driving?  Maybe my standard that I'm used to hearing isn't the standard used in Virginia, but based on the quoted paragraph, she wasn't reckless - just careless.

This would not be news at all - except that Mrs. Mars and her family have given hundreds of thousands of dollars (maybe millions) to the anti-all-highways Piedmont Environmental Council.

The Virginia Department of Transportation proposed some significant safety improvements to have included the part of U.S. 50 where this crash happened.  Those projects were vigorously opposed by the PEC and its front groups, and the PEC emerged victorious over VDOT, thanks in large part to the money and the political muscle that the money pays for.

Basically, she's now in deep shit for an accident that she caused on a road she opposed safety improvements to that might have prevented her accident in the first place.

I believe the term we're looking for is "karma".  A six month suspended sentence and a $2,500 fine is a bit light, IMHO.

[SP Cook]

Karma would be a civil suit that would render her penniless.

Because the best cure for green selfishness is hunger.