If trends this year hold, the nine Tristate counties will end 2000 with 152 fatal crashes, a 29 percent drop from the 214 crashes in 1999. But tragedy often strikes even good drivers, including teens. He wasn't speeding. He was wearing his seat belt. Gene, who always wore a seat belt, had a spinal deformity that kept him in a wheelchair when he wasn't walking on his hands.
Prison sentences vary.
But a quarter-century ago, most young drivers involved in fatal crashes never went to trial. When they did, the charges were mostly misdemeanors. Now, even defendants under 18 face potentially long prison terms for fatal crashes under reckless circumstances. It wasn't looked at as a criminal matter the way it is now. Every time, the number of victims far exceeds the deceased person listed on police reports.