Poll: Is the County Responsible for Deterring Drivers with Suspended Licenses?

Anonymous August 11, 2012 at 02:00 pm

Dear Patch,
It's time to give this topic a rest already. I feel your playing on the victims and friends by making twists in the stories and posting silly polls. The SBPD conducted a thorough investigation, arrested the suspect and booked him into jail on murder charges. The family and their friends were not demanding murder charges because they only knew the driver had a seizure and in fact prayed for him in the same church they buried their brothers. The arrest happened under the color of darkness while everyone was asleep. The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office has a strong case on Corsiglia now and he will no doubt spend the rest of his life in prison. I encourage the family and friends to check the news periodically but not reply to ignorant post. If you need too use the media to get your message across but don't let them use you. Lastly, remember the defense also reads these posts and keeps book too.

Bren August 11, 2012 at 04:21 pm

I agree with Anonymous. These Patch polls are increasingly daft. This poll in particular is especially problematic because you don't seem to even be clear on which question you're asking. The title at the top of the page says, "Poll: Is the County Responsible for Deterring Drivers with Suspended Licenses?"
That's one question. Then you ask, "Do you agree that this accident could have been diverted with a stricter punishment after the first accidents?" That's another separate and distinct question. And then, finally, you ask a third question, which we get to vote on, a question which is totally different from the title of this poll: "Should the County have punished Corsiglia more harshly after his previous accidents?" Worse yet, the three possible answers you give us are even more daft. It's like you're all over the place, just throwing things out there in the hope that they will stimulate discussion.

Aaron August 11, 2012 at 04:39 pm

We can waste our entire lives talking about what should have been done.
It won't change what happened. the only thing that could have prevented this would be by placing a ban on the make and model of car that the guy was driving. It would be best to just ban every vehicle that weighs in excess of 1500 pounds and isn't equipped with an emergency driver alertness detector. Just like banning assault rifles. hey .. check out this story about a Chinese teenager who murdered 8 and injured 5 more on a knife rampage. http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-teen-kills-eight-knife-attack-reports-102629246.html now THERE's someone you don't want behind the wheel. http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-teen-kills-eight-knife-attack-reports-102629246.html

Jane Doe August 11, 2012 at 05:07 pm

Accidents happen and yea this was an accident no matter how hard it is to admit it. This man who has a medical condition is no different than a drunk driver or a texted while driviing who has been told over and over again not to drive. People can not control other people it just isn't possible this is why the statistic is so high for accidental deaths for people ages 25-50. You are more likely to die from an accident than natural causes.
I really don't think if I just lost my husband/wife I would be taking time to comment on local articles.

Antonio Catpo August 12, 2012 at 12:04 am

Thanks PATCH for keeping us informed.
It's unfortunate that when the government creates/enforces rules and regulations. citizens cry foul, and when the government is not strict with punishments, citizens' bad behavior affects society negatively.

Antonio Catpo August 12, 2012 at 12:05 am

... oh, and yes, assault rifles should be banned!

joan peceimer August 12, 2012 at 01:59 am

I thought this occurred during the day.

Rick Bonilla August 12, 2012 at 04:24 am

I agree with this post. Additionally, how could we possibly know how to respond to the final question regarding harshness of punishments considering that you failed to inform us of any previous punishment? Ultimately I am not a fan of trial by public opinion based on tidbits of info provided by the media.

CQ August 12, 2012 at 09:10 pm

It's DMV and NOT San Mateo Co. that issues, suspends, and revokes driver's licenses due to disabilities that affect driving ability and motorists' safety. SMCO DA only would have taken previous actions of filing criminal charges IF there was some negligent action or law violation that was investigated by a PD/SO and an arrest or complaint filed with the DA's Office.

George Kranen August 14, 2012 at 12:34 am

I agree with Bren and Rick: this "poll" is a waste of perfectly good electrons. Patch asks three different questions. The first, posed in the headline, belongs on a high school civics test. CQ answered it. The second question appears above the "poll" box: "Do you agree that this accident could have been diverted [sic] with a stricter punishment after the first [sic] accidents?" A poorly-worded question worthy of a political “poll”. How are we to answer this? Patch doesn't tell us what "punishments", if any, were meted out after the earlier accidents. There's no mention of previous prosecutions. There's no mention of previous DMV administrative actions. There IS mention that Corsiglia had been in SIX prior collisions since 2007, at least some of which produced injuries. What did the police accident reports say? Where was the DMV through all that? Where was Corsiglia's insurance company? Where was his physician? If no one brings charges or makes accusations, there is nothing for the DA to do.
Finally, in the "poll" box: "Should the County have punished Corsiglia more harshly after his previous accidents?" (Hey, the writer re-discovered English grammar and syntax!) Maybe. See the prior paragraph. Drivers are not usually punished after traffic collisions beyond points and boosted insurance premiums--unless they’re found to be under the influence and/or impaired. Did anyone tell the DMV that Corsiglia’s accidents were possibly caused by seizures? Did anyone know?

A D August 14, 2012 at 08:06 pm

Why would you judge the actions of a bereaved spouse? How insensitive and inappropriate.

wonderwoman August 15, 2012 at 12:32 am

I think that the media makes things so much worse. I would really like to see all of these articles or at least the comments removed regarding this terrible incident. I know that the patch has received tons of hits to their site as we should be grieving for the loss of our friends. The bottom line is...the families are left to read this crap and it is very unnecessary especially at their time of loss.