Rod and Paula Bramblett Killed in Car Accident

[McLoofus 35,182]

17 hours ago, alexava said:

I hate it for the kid. I have had weed discussions on here a lot. I smoked weed several times as a teenager. Never mine, never bought it, never rolled a joint, never carried it on my person or in my vehicle. When I did it it was peer pressure. I hated it because it would make me fall asleep. I don’t think I ever enjoyed it. I know I’m in the minority in this regard. I never understood why people risk so much with something I hate.

i do recall in the days right after the accident people saying the driver fell asleep. Maybe he reacts to it like I do or maybe it wasn’t a factor at all. But I work a rotation shift now and get scary close to falling asleep on the way home at times. I don’t do any drugs and don’t drink at work but that’s where I’m most vulnerable behind the wheel. I guess that’s why I pity the kid.  I could have found myself there at that age or even now. 

Also, people- usually kids, I'd assume- often try to hold it in as long as they can before exhaling, for maximum effect. Not that hard to pass out that way. 

[TigerStripe 36]

18 hours ago, Sani-Freeze said:

We've all done dumb stuff, but this is different. There are dumb mistakes, and then there is driving 90 on a city street, which is borderline homicidal. Add in the influence of drugs and I absolutely think he should he should be tried as an adult. Accidents happen, but driving 90 while high is not an accident. There have to be consequences for this type of criminal recklessness. 

As far as I understand it, the kid failed a blood test. Weed can stay in your blood for 2-7 days after last use, so all this really proves is that the kid had smoked weed recently. Sounds like they do multiple tests from previous posts to try and pinpoint last usage. While I’m sure they can get a better sense of when he was last high by doing this, I have my doubts about whether they can say with absolute certainty he was driving while high. Given that we’re talking about a state where weed is still more heavily stigmatized than just about anywhere else in the US, I don’t expect this kid to get a fair trial. 

I really hope this kid’s life isn’t ruined because of assumptions over reason. On the flip side, if there is somehow true proof he was high while driving, that’s an entirely different thing and should be treated as such by the courts.

[I_M4_AU 7,768]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Yes, for good reason. But not because it's actually unsafe for *everyone*. 

Plenty of people can very safely operate outside of countless safety regulations. 90 mph is not an unsafe speed on an interstate for everyone. It's only unsafe for those incapable of doing it properly, which includes knowing when it's okay and when it isn't. 

Speed is relative on the interstate system.  There are areas in this country that if you are going 90 you better be in the right lane.  One of those areas is just south of Jacksonville, Fl to just north of Daytona on I-95, another is from Charleston to Columbia on I-26.  The key is being situationally aware of what is going on around you.  Go with the flow of the traffic, whatever that speed is, and don’t stick out in a crowd.

An old saying; there are bold pilots and there are old pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. 

[I_M4_AU 7,768]

25 minutes ago, auskip07 said:

Im not buying the "sleeping" defense.   

I’m not either.  He was driving a Jeep Laredo and I would think his foot had to be clued to the floor board for that thing to maintain 90 mph.  How do you do that if you are asleep?  He could have set his cruise control to 90 mph previously and inadvertently re-engaged it. 

[tallgraycat 33]

The problem as I see it with driving faster than the speed limit is the other drivers on the road. Yes I can safely drive 90 miles per hour on many roads but when others are driving I don't know what they will do and they are not considering nor know that I am driving 90. We have all seen people make sudden lane changes or slow down considerably for some reason. Then add in all the distraction inside and outside of my car, I choose to drive close to the speed limit.

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, TigerStripe said:

I really hope this kid’s life isn’t ruined because of assumptions over reason. On the flip side, if there is somehow true proof he was high while driving, that’s an entirely different thing and should be treated as such by the courts.

Two people are dead ...he hit them doing about 75 to 90 mph ….daylight hours and a clear day.....no assumptions there.   The MJ might be a factor but not sure it is relevant in how punishment is handled.    Probably manslaughter  

JMO…..but like drinking and driving.....its a conscious decision to get behind the wheel when impaired......and no excuses when it does not turn out well. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 hour ago, auskip07 said:

Im not buying the "sleeping" defense.   

If you're not buying the 'sleeping' cause then what do you think it was? It's just hard to believe all possibilities are not still a cause....

[McLoofus 35,182]

44 minutes ago, tallgraycat said:

The problem as I see it with driving faster than the speed limit is the other drivers on the road. Yes I can safely drive 90 miles per hour on many roads but when others are driving I don't know what they will do and they are not considering nor know that I am driving 90. We have all seen people make sudden lane changes or slow down considerably for some reason. Then add in all the distraction inside and outside of my car, I choose to drive close to the speed limit.

Not to get too sappy on you... but I wish I more often explained my rationale for my own thoughts and choices without calling anyone else's perspective into question, as you have here.

Sorry. You're probably like, "What the hell dude, I was just saying I don't drive like a jerk." Fair enough. Good post. 

[wde1968 262]

If it was weed it was the synthetic. Never seen any naturally that potent.

[DAG 33,955]

1 hour ago, tallgraycat said:

The problem as I see it with driving faster than the speed limit is the other drivers on the road. Yes I can safely drive 90 miles per hour on many roads but when others are driving I don't know what they will do and they are not considering nor know that I am driving 90. We have all seen people make sudden lane changes or slow down considerably for some reason. Then add in all the distraction inside and outside of my car, I choose to drive close to the speed limit.

Thank you for taking the consideration of others before your own. In this country you got to be a defensive drive and you choosing to be that way is highly respectable. 

[AUBURN1980 3]

I have been a reader on this site for years but never posted but feel compelled to post today.

First, I have no insider information and don't personally know either family involved. My husband and I did go through that intersection on our way out of town and back into town a few days after the accident. The light was red both times so I had time to observe all the police paint on the road showing the path of the two vehicles after the collision. 

My theory all along is that the traffic light changed. I think they are controlled by a computer program here in Auburn so that might be able to be checked. You see in the reports that the Bramblett vehicle was stopped or nearly stopped so I think Rod made the decision to stop for the changing light. Like you see almost daily and many of us have probably done, the teenager decided to accelerate through the changing light. That might be why he went from 88 to 91.  Was this just an innocent mistake - no. He was driving way over the speed limit, maybe impaired, maybe tired, and maybe following behind them too closely.  

We may never know what really happened and again this is just my theory for what it's worth. 

War eagle, Rod and Paula. 

[aubiefifty 16,705]

i have smoked pot on and off for right at fifty years. next month is my birthday so it makes it real close. i had to quit for almost a decade because i needed to pay the bills more than i needed to have fun. i do not drive and smoke. but what worries me is the kid might not have smoked at all that night. thc can stay in your system for months. and if you are fat like i am it can linger in fat cells for around six months. so did the kid get high before he went out? or had it been a few days and he was not high and yet still show up positive? it is wrong to claim he was high because of a positive test if he had not smoked in a few days. i want justice just like most folks do but i would hate to see the kid charged when he was sober. just my opinion......

[gr82be 14,402]

6 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i have smoked pot on and off for right at fifty years. next month is my birthday so it makes it real close. i had to quit for almost a decade because i needed to pay the bills more than i needed to have fun. i do not drive and smoke. but what worries me is the kid might not have smoked at all that night. thc can stay in your system for months. and if you are fat like i am it can linger in fat cells for around six months. so did the kid get high before he went out? or had it been a few days and he was not high and yet still show up positive? it is wrong to claim he was high because of a positive test if he had not smoked in a few days. i want justice just like most folks do but i would hate to see the kid charged when he was sober. just my opinion......

To me it still comes back to 90 MPH. Whether on not he was under the influence is not an issue in large part because the excessive speed is what caused two deaths. He is guilty of manslaughter. Drinking and drugs will get you on trouble if you show bad judgement. Automobiles will get you in trouble if you show bad judgement. This young man used bad judgement, made a terrible decision and will pay the consequences. 

[aubiefifty 16,705]

5 minutes ago, gr82be said:

To me it still comes back to 90 MPH. Whether on not he was under the influence is not an issue in large part because the excessive speed is what caused two deaths. He is guilty of manslaughter. Drinking and drugs will get you on trouble if you show bad judgement. Automobiles will get you in trouble if you show bad judgement. This young man used bad judgement, made a terrible decision and will pay the consequences. 

my point is in many states you can go weeks without getting high but if it is still in your system they can take you to jail. i should have been clearer i guess. i assumed folks knew that i knew the speed thing would get the kid. shrugs.

[ToraGirl 5,498]

1 hour ago, gr82be said:

To me it still comes back to 90 MPH. Whether on not he was under the influence is not an issue in large part because the excessive speed is what caused two deaths. He is guilty of manslaughter. Drinking and drugs will get you on trouble if you show bad judgement. Automobiles will get you in trouble if you show bad judgement. This young man used bad judgement, made a terrible decision and will pay the consequences. 

The speed alone.  I spent last night trying to make sense of the difference between all of the legal charges and terms out there, differing from state to state, differing for the ages involved, differing no doubt from which lawyer represents.  It is so very sad, all around.  There are so many side issues floating that distract from the central concern.  I have realized over the last few days, upon the release of the information and my research, that I know more than I wish I did.  Please, please join me in prayer for BOTH families.  This is a genuine AUBURN, city itself, bombshell.  These are people I grew up with.  My heart keeps traveling to JET.  My heart, to the Bramblett children. My heart to all of us, trying to make sense, waffling between the clinical, our own experiences, and the emotional.  It is my greatest prayer that even though we wade through the devastation now, so much good, so much communication, so much empathy, so much justice, so much wise precedent from this point forward, and so much forgiveness flow here that we don't have the words to describe it.  There's only one way out of this, and it is through.  

Love you, AUFamily.  Take today to pass that forward to those closest to you.

[AUGunsmith 666]

Damn the reefer madness is jamming in here atm. Damn kids and their devil's lettuce. 😂🤣

[Barnacle 9,064]

36 minutes ago, AUGunsmith said:

Damn the reefer madness is jamming in here atm. Damn kids and their devil's lettuce. 😂🤣

I'm far from an alarmist, but if you don't understand the dangers of driving high, I don't know what to tell you.

[AU64 10,122]

Some folks have offered the excuse that he was only 16 and had made some bad decisions and maybe should not be charged as an adult.  BUT...if a 16 year old can't be trusted to make adult quality decisions then he or she should not be allowed to have a driving license.    

I was driving over to Charlotte Monday and cruising along I-85 at about 70 in heavy traffic. and it struck me again that I have no idea about the competency of the people running right along side of me or approaching from the opposite direction at 70 or 75.     

Boy,  when you get in a car to go somewhere you sure have to take a lot on faith.....

[aubiefifty 16,705]

1 hour ago, AUGunsmith said:

Damn the reefer madness is jamming in here atm. Damn kids and their devil's lettuce. 😂🤣

no names but my shrink told me to smoke because i cannot stomach the meds. true story. he said most of his older patients self medicate with his blessing.

[aubiefifty 16,705]

7 hours ago, kevon67 said:

Describes my weed usage to a T.........couldnt roll a joint if my life depended on it......never even attempted..........this young man will carry this the rest of his life.......I too pity the kid.........its very sad for both sides.

just as a teaching moment rolling pot in a joint wastes way too much pot. lol i got that little jewel from high times mag.........grins.

[auskip07 930]

6 hours ago, steeleagle said:

If you're not buying the 'sleeping' cause then what do you think it was? It's just hard to believe all possibilities are not still a cause....

He was going to fast and wasnt paying attention.  

[TigerStripe 36]

6 hours ago, AU64 said:

Two people are dead ...he hit them doing about 75 to 90 mph ….daylight hours and a clear day.....no assumptions there.   The MJ might be a factor but not sure it is relevant in how punishment is handled.    Probably manslaughter  

JMO…..but like drinking and driving.....its a conscious decision to get behind the wheel when impaired......and no excuses when it does not turn out well. 

It’s terrible, nobody is disputing that. I couldn’t even read much of the coverage because it brought me to tears. Emotion is not the same thing as justice though, and I’m concerned the kid is going to get the book thrown at him because of who was involved in the accident.

If driving 90mph and the other facts excluding the positive THC point to manslaughter, then the courts should do what they need to do. But I just don’t think they can actually prove he was high while driving unless they have something they aren’t sharing at this time. 

[kevon67 2,368]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Some folks have offered the excuse that he was only 16 and had made some bad decisions and maybe should not be charged as an adult.  BUT...if a 16 year old can't be trusted to make adult quality decisions then he or she should not be allowed to have a driving license.    

I was driving over to Charlotte Monday and cruising along I-85 at about 70 in heavy traffic. and it struck me again that I have no idea about the competency of the people running right along side of me or approaching from the opposite direction at 70 or 75.     

Boy,  when you get in a car to go somewhere you sure have to take a lot on faith.....

I agree and 2 young children lost both parents and I also feel for the parents of the 16yr old.....son possible long sentence, lawsuits, legal fees...........As a parent you can preach right from wrong sometimes it doesn't stick unfortunatley.

[alexava 6,973]

42 minutes ago, TigerStripe said:

It’s terrible, nobody is disputing that. I couldn’t even read much of the coverage because it brought me to tears. Emotion is not the same thing as justice though, and I’m concerned the kid is going to get the book thrown at him because of who was involved in the accident.

If driving 90mph and the other facts excluding the positive THC point to manslaughter, then the courts should do what they need to do. But I just don’t think they can actually prove he was high while driving unless they have something they aren’t sharing at this time. 

Probably can’t even prove he was driving that fast. 

[kevon67 2,368]

I realize pot effects people differently.........I drove home from a party high when I was 17.............about 4 miles one way..........I drove about 5 miles under the limit for fear someone would think I was high if I drove too fast..........I was so nervous speeding was last thing on my mind.........like Alexeva mentioned made me tired , nervous and hungry......also give my beer a nasty taste...........at 16 I dont imagine he's been smoking long if not his first time........Ive heard it gives some people schitzophrenic type symptoms.