http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/07/boys.hit.ap/index.html ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida (AP) -- A woman ran over two teenage brothers after they accidentally hit her sport utility vehicle with a golf ball they were bouncing in a parking lot, officials said. One of the boys suffered life-threatening injuries. The 14- and 16-year-old boys were bouncing the golf ball in a shopping center parking lot Sunday afternoon when it went astray and struck the SUV driven by 47-year-old Kathy Feaganes Allen, sheriff's Deputy Greg Suchy said. No damage was done, and the boys apologized and began to walk away, Suchy said. Allen started to drive away, but suddenly made a U-turn, ran over a median and struck the teens before knocking over a light pole, Suchy said. "I tried to run. I blacked out. I woke up bleeding," Justin Marshman, 16, told The Florida Times-Union. She then allegedly went after a third brother, but did not hit him. A witness said that after the SUV came to rest, Allen got out of the car and smoked a cigarette with the boys lying on the ground in pain. "She charged them. This was the most deliberate act," witness Russell McPhee said. "After she ran them down, she got out of the car and lit a cigarette like a movie star." Isiah Grayer, 14, was in critical condition Monday. Justin Marshman, his stepbrother, was treated for non-life threatening injuries. Brent Woolbright of the St. Johns County Public Defender's Office said he was assigned Allen's case Monday and was trying to get all the facts. "I talked to her, and her story is a little different that what was reported," he said. Allen told the court she has mental problems. A judge ordered her held without bail Monday on three counts of attempted murder.
I think it's the general mentality that SUV owners have or rather that SUV sales/marketing caters too that he's making reference to. It's that "me first" or "Get out of my way or I'll run you over" kind of thing. There is a new Jeep Liberty bill board add out here in L.A. showing a Jeep Liberty driving over cars that are jammed nose to tail on a city street as if it were off roading. That kind of ad caters to a specific mentality. They use that kind of add because the add works to attract those types of individuals. As does the Hummer H2 ad where the boy cheats his way to winning the down hill soap box derby race. Both appeal to a "Get ahead at any cost; hurt anyone, break any rule, as long as I get ahead" mentality that many SUV owners tend to have. How can I say that they do? Because marketing companies do a lot of research into the types of individuals that buy products. Simply seeing what types of ads are used to attract a type of individual tells you who's buying the product. This is just one demographic that they appeal to of course. They also target others such as those who like to drive up to school to drop Kate and Hunter off and feel as if they've "arrived." Also the "safety mom" who likes to feel safe in her SUV above the others, even though SUV arent as safe as cars. They don't have to meet the same crash standards as a car and are much more prone to roll over and single car accidents. The 5 star rating (crash test) you see for an SUV isn't based on the same 5 star rating for a car.
What a bunch of crap. What would have happened in a Mini? The kids would be splattered through the windshield. It's not SUV madness, it's people madness. some of you are killing me. It's people's fault when it comes to guns, but it's the SUV's fault when some psycho charges someone!
