March 13, 2006

A PSA: Look both ways before crossing the street

Former Bucks County State Representative Thomas Druce was paroled today from prison after serving two years. The ex-Republican wunderkind, then in his 30s, pled guilty to charges stemming from an incident in July 1999 where his SUV struck and killed a man -- 42-year-old ex-Marine Kenneth Cains -- in Harrisburg and kept going.

Druce claimed that he thought he had hit a street sign, and he got his SUV repaired before police could inspect it and lied to his insurance company about the accident's time. One might think a rational person who strikes a street sign might stop anyway, but apparently Druce was just too good for that.

What he also claimed he was too good for was prison, as (after his guilty plea to leaving the scene of a fatal accident, tampering with evidence and insurance fraud) he spent about three years trying to appeal every last minute detail. He finally went to jail after exhausting all his plea attempts.

And now he's back out, and eventually probably back on the road. The man Druce hit was drunk and stepped out in front of the SUV, so Druce couldn't have avoided him, but if you're crossing a street anytime soon, you might want to look both ways -- especially if you're a down-on-your-luck vet. Or, you know, a street sign. Neither can get any justice.

Druce Released [AP/CBS 3]

Posted by D-Mac on March 13, 2006 02:00 PM
Posted to Crime , State Legislators Who Got Off Easy And The Ex-Marines They Left In Their Wake , Traffic Accidents

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