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Comment by thraway3837 | Hacker News Reader

Yup, worst possible comparison. 40,000 people die from car accidents. That doesn't even cover pedestrians, cyclists. You know what the penalty is for murdering someone with a car? nothing. you get to go back to society like nothing happened.

Oh and that lady that murdered 4 members of an entire family? The judge chose not to pursue charges, and her family in the meantime did an asset transfer so that nothing could be pursued with in civil court.

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The position of the legal system is that car accident deaths are not murder.

It is extraordinarily rare for drivers to see criminal charges unless they are drunk. It's a matter for civil court.

>her family in the meantime did an asset transfer so that nothing could be pursued with in civil court.

News articles are reporting that the asset transfer has already been reversed. That kind of stunt never works - courts aren't stupid and they don't like it when you play games.

https://sfstandard.com/2026/03/20/mary-lau-sentenced-probati...

Glad to hear that the asset transfer has been reversed. Hopefully they sue her out of all 3 properties. Still nothing when your entire family of 4 is murdered. Ugh, the whole thing saddens me and makes me my blood boil, but no amount of justice will ever restore 4 lives :(

There's way too many TV lawyer commercials and billboards to suggest the penalty is "nothing". Those advertising dollars come from somewhere.

That's true. Somebody is going to sue your insurance company.

those are civil lawyers, so people suing each other, not criminal

I remember a case from Germany where an elderly lady chose to speed down the pedestrian sidewalk and bike lane and mowed down a whole family in central Berlin. 4 deaths I think, no charges, no suspension.

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