San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan decided on Friday that Mary Fong Lau, a driver who tore through West Portal at over 70 mph two years ago, smashed into a bus stop, and killed a family of four, wasn't really doing anything wrong. It was all just an oopsie. From the San Francisco Chronicle's story:
Mary Fong Lau, 80, must complete 200 hours of community service and her driver’s license will be revoked for three years, but will face no jail time or home detention, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan ruled. Lau pleaded no contest to four felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter last month at a hearing in which Chan said he was inclined to sentence her to probation based on her age, lack of criminal history and display of remorse. Chan also said his sentence would take into account the fact that Lau’s husband was killed in a car crash many years ago.
With this ruling, Judge Chan sent a clear message to reckless drivers everywhere: there are no repercussions. You're running late and want to go three times the speed limit through a residential area? Try not to wreck, but if you do, just stay at the scene, say you're sorry, and everything will be fine.
While there was disagreement on what the sentence should have been for Lau, I've yet to hear of anyone who thinks she should be permitted to drive again.
Anyone, that is, except for Chan.
The DMV could still refuse to reissue her license, as discussed at length in this Reddit thread. But considering the DMV's well-documented history of failure when it comes to restraining dangerous drivers, that seems like a pipe dream.
From the watered-down safety treatments in West Portal, to the sell-out politics, to the ridiculous lack of consequences, I'm just numb. We knew it was a dangerous location, waiting for some reckless driver to trigger a disaster. And then it happened. And it was business as usual.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Christopher White reminds advocates that "...the most important way to honor the lives of anyone killed by traffic violence is for the City to urgently pursue every avenue available to them to make our streets safer."
For more on reactions to the verdict, check out the Standard's coverage.
