Michele 1
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rjf98 0
Taking it a little far there guy. Even thought TX has a rightly deserved reputation of landowners protecting themselves and their property, as someone else has pionted out, during daylight hours you can't just go around shooting someone who is on your property without being threatened. When it's night time... well the landowner gets the benifit of the doubt. Either way, and case like that involving a death of a trespasser would undoubtedly end up in a court of law and the landowner tried by a jury of his peers, which, imho is what makes it the best system in the world.
Not to mention, we tend to put to death people who unlawfully kill others in our state
Not to mention, we tend to put to death people who unlawfully kill others in our state
QuoteNow, there may be a civil issue I don't know anything about
Yep. All of my statements have been couched in tort. Intent just adds punitive damages.
My wife is hotter than your wife.
I think there is a little more to this story.
People don't just run each other down with their cars.
How exactly did he get hurt?
edited to add:
If this is as black and white as you say it is, I'm sure
that Farmer McNasty would have death warrent on his head from the other skydivers at the dropzone.
People don't just run each other down with their cars.
How exactly did he get hurt?
edited to add:
If this is as black and white as you say it is, I'm sure
that Farmer McNasty would have death warrent on his head from the other skydivers at the dropzone.
Douva 0
QuoteI think there is a little more to this story.
People don't just run each other down with their cars.
How exactly did he get hurt?
edited to add:
If this is as black and white as you say it is, I'm sure
that Farmer McNasty would have death warrent on his head from the other skydivers at the dropzone.
I guess this is where I need to jump in before everyone starts theorizing about "what really happened." Those of us who were on the load made a group decision not to post this incident online, but since it has already been posted, I doubt if any of the other jumpers will object to my setting the facts straight. I was one of the jumpers who landed off on this jump, but I was on the road outside "Farmer McNasty's" field when the incident occurred, so I did not witness the assault. Before I lay out the sequence of events, there are a couple of bits of information that may clarify a few of your questions. First, because this was a sunset load, most of this happened in the twilight, and by the time we got back to the drop zone, there was only a hint of light left in the sky. Second, "Farmer McNasty" is not really a farmer at all, but rather a rancher, so there was no destruction of a crop, and to the best of my knowledge, none of the jumpers who landed off encountered any of his livestock. I'll tell the story from my point of view so that it is clear what I witnessed and what I didn't.
It was the sunset load on Saturday, March 27. Half the load was a tracking dive, and the rest were tandems. I was on the tracking dive. We took an early spot northwest of the drop zone, so as to stay out of the airspace of the tandems and their cameramen. The dive went great, but on opening I noticed a free-bag falling below me and somebody under a red reserve canopy following it down. I followed the red reserve and the free bag into a field (actually a pasture) northwest of the DZ. A third jumper also landed in this field with us. I am not sure if this particular field is owned by Farmer McNasty, but it is across a dirt road from the field (McNasty's field) where the incident occurred. The three of us gathered our gear and crossed the fence onto the dirt road and dropped our gear in the bar ditch. One of the other jumpers said he had seen a fourth jumper (the jumper who was eventually hit by the truck) follow the main canopy onto McNasty's land. I waited by the road to flag down whoever was coming to pick us up while the other two skydivers crossed through McNasty's gate to look for the free-bag, which they found about ten yards inside his property line. They then returned to the dirt road. The fourth skydiver still hadn't returned with the main, so we decided somebody had better go help him look for it. One of the other jumpers volunteered to go knock on McNasty's door and inform whoever was home that there is a skydiver down on his property and ask permission to look for the canopy. He walked through the gate and up the dirt road toward the ranch house. The skydiver who'd had the cutaway waited with me by the dirt road. About this time, two vehicles showed up from the drop zone. The people from drop zone and I went back over to the field where we landed to make sure the canopy didn't land over there, while the jumper who'd had the cutaway waited by the vehicles. From just across the street, we saw a pickup truck pull up beside our two vehicles. The jumper with the malfunction walked over and talked to the driver of the pickup for a couple of minutes, so we assumed it was somebody else from the drop zone, but just as we got back to the road, the electric gate opened, and the pickup drove up the road to McNasty's house. The jumper who had talked to him came over and informed us that McNasty (the driver of the pickup) was "pissed." He said he told McNasty that there was one jumper on his field looking for a parachute and a second jumper walking up to the house to tell him we were there. He said McNasty's reply was, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?" We continued to wait by the road for our friends to return from McNasty's field. A few minutes later, we spotted our friends in the distance, running down McNasty's road. They were obviously in an unusual hurry, so I turned to my friend and half-jokingly asked, "Do you think he gave them a time limit to get off his land?" As they got closer, we realized that the jumper who had walked up to the farm house was carrying both of their rigs and the cutaway main. The jumper who landed in McNasty's field was holding his arm and struggling to stay on his feet. As they got near the gate, it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. I can't remember ever seeing anything exactly like the look of fear on their faces, but it was disturbing. As soon as they passed through the gate onto the dirt road, the skydiver who had landed off collapsed onto the ground and begin screaming, "He hit me! He hit me with his car!" We jumped in the vehicles and got out of there as quickly as we could. Back at the DZ, paramedics and the sheriff's office were called.
According to the two jumpers who were there (the one who was hit and the one who witnessed it), this is what happened: They were carrying the main canopy and walking back through the field, toward the private road that leads to the front gate, when McNasty came driving up in his pickup. Spotting them, McNasty swerved off the road, ran over one of their rigs, which was laying on the ground, and hit the jumper who had landed on his field. He then got out of his pickup truck, and the injured jumper screamed at him "You hit me!" His reply was something to the effect of, "You're damned right I hit you! If you ever come back on my property, I'll kill you!" The uninjured skydiver gathered up both of their rigs and the cutaway canopy, and they hightailed it back to the public road, where we were waiting.
The injured jumper was taken away from the drop zone in an ambulance and later diagnosed with bruises and a fractured arm. The police took statements and drove to McNasty's house (which we could see from the DZ) and supposedly arrested him.
As of now, I believe that's all anybody really knows. The skydiver who witnessed the assault is a regular poster to DZ.com, and I'm sure he is following this thread and will post if he has anything he wishes to contribute.
Blue skies,
Douva
I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.
"Running him over with a vehicle is a bit beyond the pale."
Damn, I say carpet bomb the fucker....
Damn, I say carpet bomb the fucker....
--------------------
He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson
He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson
Intent....good ol intent.
So that brings up the next question. Was the "wayward" skydiver cited for trespassing? Arrested for it? NO? Then the cop responding didn't think there was a crime. He did arrest FMcN, though...and I doubt it was a citizen's arrest.
Felonious assault, attempt murder, reckless vehicular operation...but not, imho, trespass. There was no intent on Chad's part...
Now, there may be a civil issue I don't know anything about, but any CA/DA bringing charges onto Chad would be remiss, imho...
And what about that clearly marked thing? Can you see it from the air? No? Again, not trespassing.
Emergency landing, no harm no foul on the jumper's part. Running him over with a vehicle is a bit beyond the pale. All right, farrrrrrrrrr beyond the pale.
Just my .02...
Ciels-
Michele
~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~
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