I wouldn't go so far as to call it evil - death happened due a miscalculation, it was not intentional. I think intent matters if we call something evil.
If someone throws rocks at oncoming cars, you can't claim innocence because "I didn't mean to kill a family in a car crash!" If you invade an oil-rich Middle Eastern country and cause half a million excess deaths, it's just as bad as if you personally murdered each and every one of them.
If you read very carefully, you'll notice that person you're replying to was delineating between evil and culpable.
On the actual statement - I disagree 100%, but we're talking ethics, so rational arguments can't go very far :)
What you are doing is diluting the 'evil brand'. If you call a drunk driver evil, you have nothing left for the likes of Hitler and Pol Pot. What are they then - double evil?
For a story that somewhat parallels what the French did (but a WHOLE different level) check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramil_Safarov