Man escapes vehicular homicide charges
A 20-year-old man involved in a fatal car crash earlier this month near Basehor will not face vehicular homicide charges. Enlarge video
Tonganoxie — A Lansing man who authorities said ran a stop sign two weeks ago, causing a wreck that resulted in the death of a Tonganoxie woman, won't face vehicular homicide charges.
The father of the dead woman said the state law that's letting this man go free is flawed, and he's hoping to see it changed.
The three-vehicle wreck on Feb. 14 claimed the life of 19-year-old Amanda Bixby, Tonganoxie, who was driving home from work in her Ford Taurus. Occupants of another vehicle involved in the wreck were injured.
According to the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office, Ricardo De-Leon Flores, 20, Lansing, the driver of a northbound Toyota 4Runner, failed to yield at the stop sign on 158th Street at U.S. Highway 24-40. His vehicle struck a Dodge Durango and then the Taurus.
Flores was cited at the scene for vehicular homicide, failure to yield and not having a driver's license.
But Leavenworth County Attorney Frank Kohl said his office would not pursue vehicular homicide charges against Flores.
Kohl said a 2002 Kansas Supreme Court ruling in State of Kansas v. Bala Krovvidi held that the mere fact that a driver ran a red light or a stop sign did not satisfy the legal elements required for a vehicular homicide conviction.
"Based upon current Kansas law, it requires more than simply running a stop sign to get a vehicular homicide conviction," Kohl said.
Tonganoxie resident Dennis Bixby, the father of Amanda Bixby, said it's a travesty that Flores won't be charged with vehicular homicide.
"I'm working with (state Rep.) Kenny Wilk to get the law changed and also to make drug testing mandatory at a crash site where a person is killed or the officers suspect drugs, or if a person is injured who requires transportation to a hospital," Bixby said.
Wilk said he and Kohl were doing further research ahead of a legislative push to change the law.
"I've got to get into more research, but I'm going to wade into it full force," Wilk said. "As it now stands, there's really no discretion in the law."
Comments
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SportTea (anonymous) says…
I am so sad this girl died. The unlicensed man needs to do time
consumer1 (anonymous) says…
This M***** F***** didn't have a driver license, that means by his driving he was intentionally putting other legal drivers in harms way. What a punk the Leavenworth DA is. I hope his children don't suffer the same wrongful death at this young lady did. Frank Kohl you are typify lazy no good attorneys in political positions.
compmd (anonymous) says…
In this case I do not agree with the DA. Mr. DeLeon-Flores put into motion events which put the public in danger, thus he should be liable for the results of his actions. In general though, changing the law for vehicular homicide to make running a red light enough to get you charged is a dangerous step to take and starts us down a slippery slope. It criminalizes honest mistakes that do happen, regardless of how tragic they may be, and can increase the difficulty of conviction in a trial.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
Running a light or sign ALONE is not enough to be charged with vehicular homicide-
How about running a light AND
Not having a license
Insurance
And possibly being here illegally- (which has never been confirmed- but a poster who claimed to know the dead girl said the guy is illegal ).
I guess it's just too politically incorrect for newspapers to report the legal status of people here killing Americans. If the crimes committed by illegal aliens were made widely public, this country would raise hell, and employers would lose their cheap labor- wouldn't want that.
If he is illegal- at the very least, he should be deported. Of course, the border is a revolving door, so he will be back within days breaking more laws.
consumer1 (anonymous) says…
I spoke out of anger. Of course I do believe this is an incredible mis-carriage of justice. I do understand that running a stop sign often times is just an oversight. However, too many factors are present in this case that indicate this individual was aware of his illegal status and should not have been driving. I still hold this weak kneed DA in contempt for not protecting the people of his community.
emilyhadley (Emily Hadley) says…
Racism has nothing to do with the fact that this young girl died due to the negligence of this driver, and that he committed vehicular homicide, by it's simplest definition.
jafs (anonymous) says…
If the law is structured so that his actions are not enough to qualify as vehicular homicide, it's not the DA's fault.
I also wondered about the man's status (legal/illegal) based on the lack of a driver's license and insurance.
dbixby61 (anonymous) says…
Leavenworth Co does not require crash scene drug testing. Kansas Supreme Court weakened the vehicular homicide law 2 years ago. Please contact the Governor and your local state representative and state senator and ask them to pass Amanda's Law requiring both!
Amanda's Dad
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
LJ,
you're correct in being concerned. did you see the study the other day that over 2,000 americans are killed each year by illegals? dwarfing the figure of soldiers killed in Iraq, who signed up for the dangerous profession of arms.
this "accident" wouldn't even be included in those annual stats.
yes, I also wondered, no license=illegal alien.
wishing for proper protection of our security, economy, and personal safety from illegal aliens is not, I repeat, not racist.
RonBurgandy (anonymous) says…
Honest question, can you be cited for not having your license on your person? I am just wondering if it could be read that way.
Whether or not that is the case, I just don't understand how he is not being charged with vehicular homicide. The driver blatently broke state laws regarding stop signs which, as a direct result of, caused the death of a person.
I don't, however, assume that because he doesn't have a driver's license, he is an illegal alien. By working at KMart when I was in college, I came across many people who did not have one.
00jester (anonymous) says…
I can only wonder if his name was John Smith, if there would be such blatent hate for the man.
1.) You don't know if he is here legally or illegally.
2.) Having no license, or insurance doesn't mean someone is illegal. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that more 'legal' people are cited for this offense.
3.) As it stands now, that is the law. I'm sure if you ran a stop sign and killed someone, your attititude would be different. I think the law is appropriate, or anyone, regardless of back round could be charged with a minor lapse in judgement, not just people intentionally putting people in harms way.
That sad, the story is sad and I hope the family can continue on.
themiddlechild (mary smith) says…
What a stupid law!
topflight (anonymous) says…
Folks, the very same thing has happened here in the lovely hippy communmity of Douglas County. Only this time, the Douglas county jury did not think Yan Mchenry acted wrecklessly enough. Please read the following article, it will make your blood boil. As for the dirt bag that ran the stop sign, he will get his.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2004/nov...
00jester (anonymous) says…
"Jurors also could have found McHenry guilty of manslaughter if they had found he acted "recklessly," but to do that they would have had to find he knew there was imminent danger to someone else and disregarded it."
He ran a stop sign. He wasn't on drugs. He wasn't drunk. No physical impairment. Made a bad decision, and someone lost their life. But under the guidlines of the law, he can't be charged, nor, in my opinion, be charger with manslaughter.
Think of how man people run stop signs here in lawrence and cause a wreck. Were there to be a fatality, i'd bet a large number of people would be in jail for a small mistake with a big consequence.
midwestmom (anonymous) says…
Amanda's Dad - My sincerest condolences on the loss of your very precious child. Thank you for the information you posted, I will contact the governor's office and our representatives. When I read about your loss, I wept for you, Amanda's Mom and the deputy who had to deliver such devastating news. Our family prays for you.
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…
Stop calling it cheap labor ... there is nothing cheap about what they are doing. We as Americans pay for these people everyday one way or another. there is nothing cheap about it !!!
domino (anonymous) says…
Kansas law requires you to have your license on you when you are driving, and you can be written a ticket for not having your DL on you. When you go to court, you can show the judge your license and he/she can choose to drop the ticket, but it isn't a given.
Centrist (anonymous) says…
And exactly HOW did running a stop sign NOT contribute to the accident????
What a ridiculous law ...
I see a civil suit coming - and for once, I totally agree with the idea!
spacystaci8 (anonymous) says…
What a load of crap people! Wake up, this guy could have hit you or your family. Its simple, stop at a stop sign. He not only didn't stop, he FLEW thru the stop sign. Did you guys see the pics of Amanda's car? The guy hit her at highway speed for crying out loud. Most of us have the sense to know if you run a stop sign at 65 mph the outcome isn't good. I say throw the book at him. This was no minor lapse in judgment, he took a life and seriously injured others, he needs to pay for his crime. He obviously is a repeat offender since his license had been taken away. Go ahead prosecutor, just slap him on the hand, hopefully it won't be your family suffering a tragedy next.
topflight (anonymous) says…
00 jester. He admitted to having taken cocaine. He was impaired, he was tested, and charged with driving under the influence of drugs. The idiotic jury did not believe the Law Enforcement Officers, they sided with the sh-- bag.
00jester (anonymous) says…
The articles in ljworld don't indicate at what speed the SUV was going when it ran through the stop sign. Unless you're seeing something i'm not Staci.
It also doesn't state that his license as suspended, only he didn't have one. There could be a multitude of reasons why, non on which is given.
I don't downplay if it were my family member, i'd be pissed, of course. But there is only one person here who can speak from that viewpoint.
Lastly, most of you only seem to be making assumptions based on nothing more then your opinion. Which, luckily, isn't the law, or i'm sure we'd have people in prison for speeding, changing without signal etc, because any of these could lead to death in the right circumstance, so why not throw the book at them tomake sure it never happens.
Harry_Manback (anonymous) says…
I disagree with mandatory drug testing at the scenes of accidents. All they really test for is marijuana, unless you just did other drugs within the last 24-48 hours. What if someone smoked pot three weeks earlier and never left their house? According to the drug test they were "high" when the caused the accident even if they hadn't used drugs in several weeks. At least with DUIs, you can tell if the person is drunk at the time, not that they drank a couple of weeks earlier.
I doubt the DA wanted to fight the Supreme Court. It's unfortunate about what happened, but maybe he's thinking if the county has the time and money to stage a battle like that. It's unfortunate, but good luck fighting a Supreme Court decision.
spacystaci8 (anonymous) says…
jester, I saw the pic of her car on the news. My husband, is a body shop tech and sees crashed cars all the time and usually knows the story of why the cars are in the shop. He told me by looking at the car the guy had to at least be going 55.
Damn skippy Jester, we should throw the book at him. Otherwise he'll be out driving reckless again.
Harry_Manback (anonymous) says…
Also, I doubt this guy is just getting off with a slap on the wrist. Everyone wants him to have jail time, but just think about what life would be like knowing you accidently killed someone? I wouldn't think it would be pleasant. This is sad for everyone involved, especially that girl's family, but if this didn't meet the definition for vehicular homicide, then it shouldn't be prosecuted as such.
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…
emilyhadley
I was responding to ljreader's comment about cheap labor , hope you suggested their removal also !
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…
Keep your articles. I have lived w/ the under handed crap these people pull.
TongieMom (anonymous) says…
The speed limit at that intersection (northbound) is 40mph. This is a dangerous intersection and the county needs to put a flasher on the stop sign to alert drivers of the upcoming stop. If it's nighttime, the intersection is even more dangerous...but keep in mind he crossed two lanes of traffic before hitting her. If he'd been traveling at a safe rate of speed, he would have had the chance to correct his mistake. The kink in the law is disgusting and most certainly needs to be changed. A bright young woman lost her life because of his actions, yet he walked away. Unfortunately, he won't get nearly what he deserves.
00jester (anonymous) says…
"He told me by looking at the car the guy had to at least be going 55."
You can't guess by looking at a picture. I've saw a car hit another going 10 mph, and the one hit had no damage, while the other was completely jacked. sorry, your husband did not take measurements at the scene and calculate exactly how fast everyone was going.
It sounds like this is a dangerous intersection as weell that needs to be taken care of. I wonder how many people would be in jail if we were as hard as you people want to be with the intersection by the K-10 business park....
spacystaci8 (anonymous) says…
By the way I just emailed the Leavenworth County attorney this PM and in his reply he did tell me this kid was an illegal alien. So why prosecute, he'll probably skip and they'll never find him. Of course someone of any race could have ran the intersection but we all know it will be easier for him to skip out if he wants to.
mike_blur (Mike Blur) says…
Okay people, let's back up here.
County attorneys are NOT district attorneys.
County attorneys are elected officials, whereas DA's are not.
Attorney General Morrison's office made that distinction clear to my family just recently.
County attorneys can make decisions about what charges to file, and not file. They do not have to consult with the victim's family.
In fact, theoretically, the family can push for the most severest of charges to be filed, and the county attorney can still file lesser charges, plea bargain or abandon the case altogether, without discussing it with the victim's family!
Amanda's Dad - I empathize deeply. My family suffered a similar tragedy about a year ago, and you're probably bewildered like us that you have a county attorney that seems to not care one bit about your family or the case. If you haven't contacted the AG's Victim's Rights office, do so at (800) 828-9745.
New laws can be enacted, but are useless if county attorneys disregard those laws when filing court cases.
lubyloo (anonymous) says…
It's not the county attorney's fault. He's following the law. It wouldn't make any sense to bring the VH charge if the court strikes it down later, would it? It's not the KS Supreme Court's fault either -- the court interpreted the law that the legislature created. Solution: call your legislator. Here is a link to the opinion, which states: "the defendant's action of running a red light does not as a matter of law constitute a "material deviation" from the standard of care which a reasonable person would observe under the same circumstances. K.S.A. 21-3405."
http://www.kscourts.org/kscases/supct...
lrobles1983 (anonymous) says…
I am a witness to both sides of this tragedy. I have to say, I am pretty surprised at the law that is allowing Ricardo to have no charges brought against him. I have seen a few comments by unknowing and unthinking people about how Ricardo is going to handle this situation by skipping town. Also comments about insurance and driver's licenses...
I am deeply sorry for the loss of Ms. Bixby and my heart goes out to her family. My heart also goes out to my friends, Ricardo and his family. Yes, I know them personally. In fact, I helped the family find a lawyer.
Ricardo is also aching for the loss of life that he has caused. Nobody has any idea what he is going through at this time. Nobody knows that Ricardo is 20. He has a 20 year old wife. He has two babies. He has a job, he has car insurance and he has home.. (I am not saying these things in any way to make light of the loss of a life, but merely to point out that while he is still alive from this tragedy, he is not out "partying" as someone said in their comments above.) Ricardo and his family are doing everything in their power to do the right thing. Even though he is here illegally true - he was (and still is) willing to do the time that he was charged with - AND - even faces deportation charges - which he is willing to comply with even after serving any jail time.
I think some people may be confusing this accident that occurred on the same evening - with similar details. Ricardo's vehicle did not actually hit anyone. Ms. Bixby's car t-boned his suv - and the driver behind Ricardo rear-ended him.
On a side note: I am an insurance agent - and yes, you can have insurance without a united states driver's license. Many insurance companies offer insurance to people with foreign driver's licenses. Also, Ricardo's policy (while not with me) was paid in full. There was also no alcohol or drugs involved in the accident.
I want Ms. Bixby's family to understand that I am not in any way making light of their tragedy, or trying to place blame on anyone here. Ricardo and his family understand that by running a stop sign, a life has ended.
As for the rest of the racist nonsense included in people's commenting...I am actually speechless by the ignorance of some people. But the immigration issue in this country is another story.
Again, my condolences go to Ms. Bixby's family.
TongieMom (anonymous) says…
The facts, as widely reported from the LVCO Sheriff's office, is that Ricardo ran a stop sign and he struck two vehicles, killing Bixby and seriously injuring another girl (who might lose her foot...did I mention she's an star athlete and still in high school?) I haven't seen his lawyer on the news conflicting these reports...just you here on the LJWorld website.
For you to even mention in your comment that you are 'not trying to place blame on anyone here' after stating that Bixby hit him is disgusting. He is the ONLY one at fault here.
Too bad he couldn't serve his debt to society in a jail in Mexico where the conditions aren't as good as 3 hots and cot here in the United States). You mention he is 'willing to comply' with deportation charges, if necessary. Are you kidding yourself?? Does deportation REALLY mean anything to him, or others here illegally? Clearly, he is here illegally now and I'm sure he'll find his way back here again...and please don't try to defend him that that won't happen. You are right, the immigration issue is another story, but it does not deflect from the fact that this individual who didn't go thru the legal process to be in this country and his actions have killed someone and robbed these two young women from their futures while he walked away....physically and probably legally.
lrobles1983 (anonymous) says…
You do not even know Ricardo or his family. You have no idea what you are talking about. You are proving your stupidity by even saying these things.
If you think that emotinally, he is "walking away from this", you are again having diarrhea of the mouth about something which you know absolutely nothing about. While physically Ricardo has not been injured he will never be the same again. And, his family will never be the same again.
I understand why everyone is so upset. This is a horrible thing to have happened to everyone involved. The only reason I wrote about Ricardo is that people could see that despite what people think, they are very very wrong. He is not "getting away" with anything. His life is ruined. Since you have never made a mistake this grave, you could not possibly understand the depth of any of this.
And - I have to retort: do you think YOU are kidding yourself? You think because people in jail in America get three meals a day and a bed to sleep on - he is not serving his time? Have you yourself had stint in the big house? Is that how you know of the conditions?
And as far as Ricardo coming back to the country after he is deported, you have no idea AGAIN what you are talking about.
I would like to say to any of Ms. Bixby's family - I truly hope that none of what I said offends you or hurts you more. If I said something that did hurt, I probably said it wrong, because I have no intentions of hurting you more in your time of mourning.
TongieMom (anonymous) says…
I never claimed to know Ricardo or his family. I never said he was 'emotionally walking away from this', I said he was walking away physically and probably legally. Those are facts, not my opinions. This is not 'proving my stupidity' or 'diarrhea of the mouth':just the facts. Also, I would hope he wouldn't walk away emotionally unscathed because his inattentive driving and running the stop sign did directly cause Amanda's death as well as a possible permanent disability to another young woman.
His life is not 'ruined', but he will have to live with a heavy heart of knowing what he holds close to him (his children) he took from someone else. He has his family and will more than likely live to see his children grow up:whether here or his native country. Hopefully, he will never have to experience this situation from the side of the Bixby and Witt families as no family should have to endure that.
A person does not have to make 'a mistake this grave' to understand the depth and far reaching effects of it. A person just has to have lost someone due to someone else's negligence to begin to understand the scope of it. The way you speak, you must have made a mistake this grave because you fully understand the depth of it:or you just are defending your friend. Either way, I venture to guess that you have never killed anyone either and aren't carrying that burden with you.
I have never been to prison, but I know that a prisoner in the United States has better conditions than a prisoner in a 3rd world country:that is common sense. In addition, I have friends who work not only in law enforcement, but have worked within the federal prison system. So please stop trying to divert the topic of this forum to something other than what it is:to discuss this accident and the laws under which he is/isn't being charged.
Finally, this is not the forum or the place to discuss immigration issues. I know for a fact (and no, not me:my grandparents came here legally at the turn of the century) that being deported does not mean one will never make it back into this country illegally. The fact he is here illegally makes no difference in regard to this horrific accident. He could be a 7th generation United States citizen and my opinion that there is injustice in this whole matter would not change.
Peace to the Bixby family.
lrobles1983 (anonymous) says…
You have managed to express what I was unable to express. This forum is being used to talk about Ricardo's illegal situation, which is not what should be worried about.
I disagree with you however, Ricardo's life is ruined, financially and with the burden of carrying with him that he has killed someone.
I have been thinking about it all day. My point from the get-go was supposed to be that unlike what people are saying on this forum, Ricardo is not walking away unscathed from this situation. He is not out partying because he is free from indictment or criminal or civil charges.
The other reason I wrote was because I did not understand why his illegality should be factor into the whole situation. He has been here for five years. To my knowledge - the stop signs look the same in Mexico. (albeit a different language - the meaning is the same) It is simply an awful, unintentional mistake. I am sure that he did not wake up in the morning and think: screw that stop sign on the corner of 158th street - consequences be damned - I am going to run it. It is possible perhaps that he did not see the stop sign? I cannot really comment on that aspect of the accident, as I have not spoken directly with Ricardo about it.
We are on the same page here - I just did not express it to the best of my ability.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
Mr. Robles,
this is not the first time that an illegal has hit and killed some one on a local street/highway. this means that if immigration were properly enforced, this might well have been prevented.
some of us point out this fact because we are deeply and profoundly troubled by the current state of things. illegals can work in this country far too easily, as illustrated by your comment above. if we made it more difficult for them to work, get social services, get in-state tuition breaks, etc., then they will get themselves back to Mexico. they got themselves here in the first place.
right now, the u.s. is absorbing millions of poor and undereducated adults from Mexico and actually enabling Mexico to continue its corrupt governance and failed economic policies since they can just ship the poor up here. the Mexican government appears to do things to actually fascilitate this invasion. the mexican government had agitators working with those rallies last year around the U.S.
when an illegal breaks into our country, he/she is then a lawbreaker. rates of many criminal offenses are higher among the illegals; they are dramaticly overrepresented in federal prisons having committed other crimes.
well over 2,000 americans are killed each year by illegals; a figure which far outstrips deaths among american soldiers in Iraq. this "accident" would not count in those figures.
I'm sure your friend feels bad. I hope he learns from this and becomes a better man. think, though, what is his illegal status teaching his children by example?
lrobles1983 (anonymous) says…
Again, this particular story is not an issue of immigration, but rather an issue of kansas laws about vehicular homicide.
I would love to discuss about immigration issues in private e-mails, but I feel it is inappropriate discussion here.
familiarobles2006@sbcglobal.net if you would like to talk about immigration issues.