Menendez’s wife struck and killed a man while driving in 2018, reports indicate

MicroWave@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 189 points – Menendez’s wife struck and killed a man while driving in 2018, reports indicate
politico.com

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, whose Mercedes was severely damaged, was not taken into custody or tested for drugs and alcohol, according to The Record.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, the wife and co-defendant of recently indicted Sen. Robert Menendez, struck and killed a man while driving in New Jersey in 2018, according to media reports.

The Record and The New York Times, citing police reports and police dash cam video, reported that Nadine Menendez, who was dating the senator at the time, was found by police in the small borough of Bogota to be “not at fault” in the crash in the because the victim, Richard Koop, was jaywalking. She was allowed to leave the scene.

Nadine, whose Mercedes was severely damaged, was not taken into custody or tested for drugs and alcohol, according to The Record. She was later joined at the scene by a retired cop from nearby Hackensack who told police that he didn’t know her but he was doing her a favor because she was a friend of his friend’s wife, according to The New York Times.

19

Killing people is apparently 100% legal in the US as long as you use a car to do it.

Killing people is apparently 100% legal in the US as long as you use a car to do it are politically connected. Same as 90% of other countries, unfortunately.

The value of the car must exceed $60k before we can get our murder license.

This isn't about a car, it's about having political power

She's not at fault because he was jaywalking. What a way to blame the victim. Also, why TF is jaywalking such a "thing" in the US?

Because most of the traffic laws are built around favoring cars over pedestrians, cyclists and public transit. The opposite of the common sense rules in most European countries.

Like many weird American things, there's an episode of The Dollop podcast exploring it. I think it's episode 193: When the Cars Came.

I feel like there might have been an episode of the Futility Closest about it too, but I can't find it.

I've seen people jaywalking elsewhere, including Europe.

I like to bash the US as much as the next lemming, but don't single out the US on this one.

Edit: Please disregard the above. I suck cocks.

Bruh only in the US will you get fined for doing so. Everywhere else, you're fine.

You say that, but I've jaywalked in front of cops countless times in different states and I've never had them so much as say anything to me.

I really don't think it's enforced very much. Then again, I am white..

Jaywalking shouldn't be fine anywhere.

In many countries, jaywalking is perfectly legal. Drivers are expected to, you know, actually pay attention to the road and to not hit people.

In many other countries, 'jaywalking' is perfectly normal and legal outside of separated highways/motorways/throughways.

I don't think the question is why do Americans cross outside of crosswalks, but why is the idea that crossing outside of a crosswalk is a taboo so common in the US? Jaywalking being bad is so ingrained in America that many people don't even realize it's not a taboo internationally.

The answer, of course, is that initially people in the US were upset by drivers killing people. Because of that, the auto industry invented the term jaywalking and spent a lot of money and effort on victim blaming. They were quite successful in America, but weren't as successful in some other countries.

That's objectively paid off for the US auto industry. In the Netherlands, the initial pushback to drivers starting to kill more and more people, the "stop the child-murder" protests lead to the Netherlands becoming so bike friendly.

I had misread the initial comment. Thanks for the explanation.

Reminds me of the partner of a US intelligence member who hit and killed a man in the UK and saw no repercussions. Vehicular manslaughter is becoming a top 10 US export.