It is not often that we find inmates the victims of a car accident, but on May 16, 2011, a North Carolina Department of Transportation truck was hit by another vehicle in Vanceboro, NC. The police found that when the truck went to turn onto a gravel road at 25 mph, the car that was behind the truck rear ended the truck going approximately 35-40 mph.
The injured prisoners, ranging in age from 29 to 58, were transported to the hospital and were receiving treatment. There was little, if any, damage to the NCDOT truck, and neither driver was injured.
The article did not list the crimes that landed these inmates in jail, but frankly that should not matter. What should matter is that these individuals were victims in a car accident and needed to receive treatment at the hospital.
As a society, we are too often persuaded to believe that these men deserved what happened to them. These are false beliefs, because they are people too. They deserve similar legal rights. We do not condone criminal behavior, but rather we support the victims of car wrecks. We would support and fight for them just like we fought for this client when they were rear-ended in a car wreck.
MF