Wow,

Wait..why was the other driver not cited? It's legal to speed up when someone is passing you? Yes, she could have chosen not to pass but he didn't have to be a jerk and accelerate while she was trying to pass either. It would seem to me that there are two drivers at fault for this accident.

I can't help but think of another situation where this happened during my own high school years. Two of my friends and another boy lost their lives because some idiot sped up when they tried to pass.

stupidness deserves punishment - lock 'em all up. a person growing weed gets sent away for years but a fool behind the wheel gets next to nothing...

Correct me if I am wrong but what I am seeing here is the KPD has decided that since the driver of the truck decided to speed up when he was trying to be passed that the only option is to consider whether or not to rob a little girl of her future?

On what planet is that in the same ball park as rational?

On the subject of drag racing? Seriously? Why is that even in this article? That was utter speculation from people who didn't even witness the accident. I have this same situation happen to me almost daily when I try to go past someone. They speed up because for some reason nobody is allowed to pass them and then happily slow down again until another vehicle tries to pass. The difference is that I am a well experienced driver that knows the safer course of action is just to slow down and wait or turn onto another street.

I just can not fathom that the only thing that we can consider here is that a little girls life should be ruined and forfeit because of a jerk in a truck and a driving mistake after a year with a license.

Exactly what is Mr. Mastroine getting for leaving the scene of an accident that he caused? Why is it justifiable to let him continue on with not so much as a ticket while she may well loose her future because of his actions?

Is there a defense fund for this girl? Please contact me if there is or for that matter if there is not because I would like to organize one.

Yep, Paxton, I know /I/ would say the same no matter who was being charged with a felony for a simple mistake. She's 17 years old, she has a lot of life to live that will be severely damaged by a felony on her record for a mistake that was made by TWO drivers and not her alone. Don't accuse people of sexism and racism when you know absolutely nothing about them.

Let's try to stick to the issues and avoid personal attacks. I think we can all agree that everyone involved is fortunate, given that no one was more seriously injured or killed.

Call me stoopid... BUT.... she, the driver is the only one here responsible. It's right in the article. If this were my daugher, I would be punishing her along with the law. My gosh, her actions almost cost 3 people their lives. Rollovers are often fatal. They are so very very fortunate.

I think she is getting off lucky. I don't know the other driver, but I don't see where he is even at fault here. Girl was driving, girl tried to pass, girl in the wrong, girl hit curb, car wrecked. I find the boy's actions irresponsible and immature when he hit the gas, drove away, but nothing illegal. (NO, I don't know either party.)

Perhaps the boy was speeding up to get away from her erratic driving? Perhaps he had to go to the potty? She was clearly in the wrong. We ALL take this kind of chance every time we get behind the wheel. This will not ruin her life: IT SHOULD MAKE HER LIFE if she learns the lessonS here. This is just a bump in the road of life for her.

I don't know either of the drivers, nor any of the kids involved. I have a brother who does and I am glad he did not have to attend the funerals of any of his friends during his senior year. I have lived through the experience of losing three friends before I was eighteen years old to car accidents. I was in an accident myself at sixteen that could have very well been fatal for me. I remember very well what it is to be an inexperienced driver and also the shock and horror of losing a friend to a car accident. I'm not sure I feel that Janel is very fortunate though, she and her friends live but she has the spectre of a felony looming over her. I don't think she shouldn't have been cite, I think the prosecutor went overboard with her citation and I think the other driver should have been cited as well.

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ORC 4511.27 Overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction.
Section A (2) Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the operator of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle at the latter’s audible signal, and the operator shall not increase the speed of the operator’s vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.

Why not charge the driver of the truck? He sped up, caused the accident, and left the scene.

All these kids are friends from Roosevelt. All 4 of them (both cars) were messing around and a terrible accident occurred. The driver of the girls car needs to answer for her poor choices. The driver of the other truck needs to also be held accountable for his poor choices. I'm sorry, but seeing your "friends" have an incredibly bad and life threatening accident and deciding to pretend you did not see anything at all is reprehensible. This should teach all of us a lesson in human compassion and when you need to do the right thing... even when it might get you in trouble yourself. CALL FOR HELP instead of choosing to FLEE!!!

The article stated the charges were the recommendations of the Prosecutor's Office, not the police department. They must follow the recommendations

Anyone other than me who did stupid stuff at age seventeen? Inexperience and the lack of understanding of what can happen (consequences of one's actions) are just not developed in the teenage brain. That's the way it is and thus this terrible situation.

Yes, we as adults, have all made stupid choices in our lives. However, we paid the consequences and were accoutable for our actions. Why is that this next generation does not have to live up to the same standards of resposibility? Why are we so quick to say, "poor little girl" or "not her fault"...?

oh yes, I forgot the most important one..., "but he didn't mean it"

,,,

Very well said Pad! Now, had you said that in your first post, I would not have reacted the way I did :) Both driver's of both cars need to be held accountable. They are so very fortunate that someone did not lose their life in this silly game of "Cat and Mouse" that has been said to have been going on. What a perfect time for us as parents to reflect on what lessons and tools we are giving our children to succeed in their future. maybe we need to be a bit more diligent in makeing sure we stress the point that with great freedom comes great responsibility... especially behind the wheel of a car.

"Mastroine drove away from the scene without stopping, according to police."

Legal or illegal, it shows a lot about his character that he would choose to drive away.

The reporter needs to check and double check their facts. Eva Toppen was not life flighted, another passenger was.

The only thing the other driver did wrong was speed up, if you can accurately figure out if he was speeding(remember law,resonable doubt) then you could give him a speeding ticket, or maybe wreckless op if it was fast enough.
There was only one vehicle in the accident ppl! The othe guy in the truck is irrelevant.

He (driver of the truck) was not a "part" of the accident! At best he was a witness. He is aloud to leave. How much property damage did he do? How much damage was done to his truck.
She made a stupid mistake ppl and she has to live with it. Really, if you know this development then you know she was on the other side of the road completely as they (lanes) are separated by a median with landscaping. Its not hard to find who is at fault here.

Nothing missing from the story Teresa, she made a bad decision that had unfortunate consequences. Nothing wrong with that, we live and learn right? And right at the end of your comment is what it all boils down to.
She should be happy this did not cost her and her friends their lives, i know i am and i dont know any of them.

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The driver of the red truck contributed to the accident by trying to speed up to not allow the girls to pass. Both cars were traveling at an obscene rate of speed at the time of the accident. The truck WAS part of the accident as his not permitting the girls to pass contributed to the girls losing control of the car. He then FLED the scene once he saw what had happened as a result of their horseplay. BOTH drivers need to be reprimanded. (as well as the passengers if they were encouraging the play)

So concerned.... U must have been in the red truck or the BLUE vw to know ALL the FACTS of the entire incident. This comment section is a joke.

The driver of the red truck needs to apologize at the very least for not stopping or calling for help! The crash was heard at the high school because the sound was so loud. The game was him not letting them pass and them trying to pass. For goodness sakes... and by the way, it is not even close to half a mile... Bottom line, ALL the kids were involved and ALL the kids need to take responsibility. I am very glad you are a concerned mom, but please try not to be naive.

I think that unless you were in the either the Volkswagen or the Dodge you can not say whether the story you have been recounting is one hundred percent authentic or not. And, honestly, if you weren't in one of the two cars I don't see why it matters. All of you are going to forget about this in a few months, maybe a year at the most. After that it'll just be a vague story that you once heard about that upset you but other than that had no effect on your life. So let's let those who it did affect be and give them some peace after something so traumatic. And as a closing thought, neither party has stated that they aren't taking responsibility for their actions. So unless you have spoken to either the boy or the girl and found that they express no remorse for the matter, I would ask that you keep any negative comments about their punishment to yourself because your opinion doesn't matter one way or another. Just be happy that you weren't affected. You could have been but you weren't. That should be enough.

Everyone in the community is affected by this. Our children are affected by this. I hope it is not forgotten in a couple of months. Let this be a lesson to new and upcoming drivers how one second of horseplay can yield a horrific result. Turn it into a positive learning moment. Have conversations with your kids about it and then have the conversation again, and again. I hope we never forget. I hope that in the future, all the kids involved can share their experience with the rest their peers to help make sure that this type of thing does not happen again.

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