To the editor: This is appalling. Only two-and-a-half years for taking a young life (“The reckless driver who killed her son is about to be released. This SoCal mom is furious,” Feb. 12)?
This was someone who had already been in four at-fault crashes, three of which involved being distracted by her phone. Prosecutors said she had been drinking before the crash, but of course she delayed turning herself in long enough to avoid being charged with a potential DUI.
Meanwhile, on the following Los Angeles Times page, we learn of a man getting sentenced to two years in prison for cutting down 13 trees (“He said he loved trees but chain-sawed 13 of them in bizarre L.A. vandalism rampage,” Feb. 11). Both crimes detailed in these stories result in the ultimate consequence: death, whether it be of a person or nature. Dead is dead.
One suggestion mentioned in the article about the reckless driver is installing breathalyzers in the cars of everyone who’s been convicted of a DUI. This can be bypassed, however, by a sober passenger taking that test. To make this work, police should install Ring-type cameras in DUI offenders’ cars facing the driver.
The footage would instantly go to a database that can be used by police when investigating a crime. This would show who is driving that car, if they are texting, and if they are the ones using the breathalyzer.
Cheryl Younger, Los Angeles