COLLEEN MCCARTHY
Nearly six months after hitting a Starkville woman who was riding her bicycle, Robbie Norton of Cedar Bluff was found guilty of simple assault with a deadly weapon by the Clay County Justice Court yesterday.
Norton hit Jan Morgan, who was out on a training ride with Kim Richardson, on the morning of May 22 on Highway 50 near Pheba.
Norton entered not guilty to the charges of simple assault with a deadly weapon so the case proceeded with a trial.
Morgan could not testify to the events of that day because the head injury she suffered due to the accident caused her to forget.
Monica Jones testified that she was driving behind Norton going approximately 70 miles per hour and had seen Morgan and Richardson before the accident. When Morgan was hit, she said she “thought it was a piece of furniture or something,” but realized it was the bike flying up into the air and breaking in two.
When she and her husband realized what had happened, they pulled over and called 911. Jones said she witnessed Norton getting out of the car on the phone “saying ‘they came out of nowhere, they came out of nowhere.’” Morgan’s body landed on the hood of the car, but slid to the ground, landing near the passenger-side tire.
She said Norton was panicking when she got back into her car and in an attempt to move the car out of the way, ran Morgan over and stopped with the wheel still on Morgan’s head. Jones said they were all screaming at Norton to “get off her head,” but Norton became confused, got out of the car to look before getting back in and backing the car off Morgan’s body.
Jones said Norton got back in the car again, but they were afraid she was going to try to move the car again, so they forced her to get out of the car and give them her keys.
She said she never saw Norton’s break lights until after the impact.
Richardson also took the stand to testify. She and Jan were about 30 miles into their ride when the accident happened. She said she was riding just a few feet in front of Morgan when Norton hit her. The impact made a sound “like a gunshot,” and the car sped past Richardson while Morgan’s body flew approximately 6 feet in the air. Richardson said she saw Morgan’s body bounce twice on the hood before falling to the pavement. She, too, witnessed Norton on the phone as she emerged from the car, but said she heard her asking someone to “come and get her.”
Following the accident, Richardson said she “didn’t think (Morgan) was going to be alive when I got to the hospital.”
Read the complete article at Starkville Daily News.
Wow, a whole $50! The judge should have just walked down, slapped Jan in the face and been done with it all. This entire story is ridiculous. I hope that Mississippi wakes up at some point and actually uses some common sense. Everyone deserves to be protected. Would the judge have ruled the same way had someone plowed into the back of a tractor driving 18 mph down the highway while talking on their cell phone? My guess is that it would have been a much steeper penalty. The fact is that, like it or not, bikes have the same rights to the road as any other vehicle. They should be treated just like a slow moving vehicle such as a tractor. Why do people view cyclists so differently? Why is there so much anger towards cyclists in this area? I don’t care if you never even want to own a bike, no one deserves to be hit by a car. The penalty for Norton should have been worse. Fifty dollars is an insult.
Jeremy, it was an accident – they happen. From your rant, I gather that you think Ms Norton should be doing 25 to life? Personally, I’m glad that Ms Morgan is doing well with her recovery and wish her the best. Ms Norton made a mistake and I would like to think that she regrets it. Of course, it would have helped if she had done the right thing by apologizing, but from what I’ve read, that didn’t happen, which is unfortunate.
I suppose that if I were to accidently hit a biker that darts out in front of me, rides as close to their little white line as they can (instead of staying in their lane) or wears dark clothing after dark, you would have me hung, too?
I hope that you feel better now that you have vented and I assume that your comparison of a tractor to a bike was written in haste and that you were really not thinking about how absurd it would sound?
Amazed,
It has been well documented on this site that we do not agree on a single issue so I really do not know why we waste each other’s time commenting back and forth. That said, let me proceed and waste more of our time.
I am not sure how your “darting out in front, riding close to the line, and wearing dark clothing” comments relate to Mrs. Morgan riding on a wide open stretch of rural highway on a bright sunny day in brightly colored clothing relates to this story, but maybe I am missing something. If someone accidentally hit a child walking on the shoulder of the road, I would guess that most people would see $50 as being unjustified. My point was that alot of people are forming completely different opinions of this story just because she was riding a bike.
My point with the tractor comparison was not absurd. I was pointing out that in the “rules of the road” bicycles are to be treated as any other slow moving vehicle. A tractor is a good example of a slow moving vehicle that is commonly seen on Mississippi roads. Most people do not understand that and would never treat John Boy riding his tractor down the highway with the same amount of anger and hostility as they do cyclists. Again, you miss an obvious point.
I realize that it was an accident and I am not saying that Norton should get “25 to life,” but I think that most reasonable people would see a $50 fine as absurd. I understand that with our current laws $50 might be as severe as it gets under these circumstances. If that is the case, we need to work to change the laws to better protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other types of road users.
If I accidentally litter, I could be fined up to $500. If I accidentally leave my license at home the fine is up to $250. If I accidentally drive with a busted tail light, the fine is up to $250.
If I accidentally almost kill someone while talking on my cellphone, the fine is $50. Seriously, “amazed” you think that $50 is reasonable? I have a feeling if this happened to someone that you knew you would be screaming louder than anyone else.
Neal, I don’t recall saying $50 was reasonable, so please don’t put words in my mouth. It was an accident, and it’s over, period.