The rider knew he was rolling the dice and he lost. That's life.
trogedon,
Apr 16, 4:07am
It was his choice but he was certainly 'encouraged' (thinking of a stronger word) to ride that way.
kazbanz,
Apr 16, 6:03am
I get that racing was stupid. I just can’t understand how one rider can be charged manslaughter when they were not even on the same bike as the guy that died.
apollo11,
Apr 16, 6:46am
I've been out for a quiet ride through the twisties and been completely unaware of the guy in the crapbox behind me slewing all over the road in an effort to catch up. A mate had it happen to him too, the guy chasing him lost control and slid into oncoming traffic. (He didn't even know there was a race).
evotime,
Apr 16, 7:29am
That seems really harsh! Every rider makes their own decision. Sure if it was his passenger that died understandable.
loose.unit8,
Apr 16, 7:37am
Full agree.
I assume this was under the boy racer law changes a few years back
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 8:36am
Unfortunately some people only live to end up being lessons to the rest of us. Moral of the story is don't break the law and race motorbikes on our roads. I am just glad they didn't kill anyone innocent.
pauldw,
Apr 16, 8:40am
There were 3 bikes travelling together. Why isn't the 3rd rider involved?
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 8:59am
It doesn't sound like he was racing, he may have been behind them all the way until they stopped when he would then catch up. I did wonder that myself and could only come up with that conclusion.
pauldw,
Apr 16, 9:06am
"During the day, there had been several occasions when all three riders overtook other vehicles or each other on double yellow lines, the camera footage revealed." The camera was on the bike that crashed so it must have been tail end Charlie at some time.
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 9:22am
Perhaps they just looked at the footage around the time of the crash and only De Reeper was the one over taking and racing the deceased at that time. I must say though it does look as though De Reeper has been used as a scapegoat.
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 9:25am
Sounds like the case hinged on the witnesses account of what they saw also, and they only saw De Reeper and the deceased racing at the time of the crash.
alowishes,
Apr 16, 6:59pm
Some comments above lead one to wonder if the comment makers actually read the Stuff article?
mrfxit,
Apr 16, 7:46pm
Not a scrapegoat at all Video footage put him on the spot as being one of the two involved in that specific incident. The police would cross referenced their known visited locations/ common speeds between std & compared to recorded times & speeds (as per their own video & witness reports), those recorded in their specific actions etc etc. Yes the third rider should have been nailed as well but seems to have been at a much lesser degree of involvement in the idiot racing rather then just high speed.
kazbanz,
Apr 16, 8:32pm
Sorry dude I just can't make the leap from what was proven to be dangerous driving by our legal definition (190 plus km/h in a 100k zone) to manslaughter in this case. If the dead guy was the passenger on the guys bike I agree totally. But he wasn't . He had his hand on the throttle. he was riding the bike. Again I just can't make that leap. .
I have to agree. Book him for dangerous driving, but the other rider was responsible for his own actions and his own machine. If people are jumping off a bridge into the sea and one of them drowns, are the rest of the group liable for manslaughter charges? If two cyclists try to cross the Auckland harbour bridge and one gets killed by a truck, is the other cyclist guilty of manslaughter?
trogedon,
Apr 16, 9:02pm
He didn't get off "scott free".
loose.unit8,
Apr 16, 9:10pm
Boy racer laws often either don't make logical sense or are out of proportion to the offence.
desmodave,
Apr 16, 9:22pm
The Golden rule, don't get sucked into outriding yourself . The Manslaughter charge is out of line i think . Different day , different Judge , different outcome . Better get a ride in while the suns out .
trogedon,
Apr 16, 9:41pm
"Better get a ride in while the suns out ." = good advice.
absolute_detail,
Apr 16, 10:27pm
Killing someone and being discharged without conviction and permanent name suppression is the definition of scot free
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 10:54pm
Totally agree too. It should not be manslaugter at all.
muppet_slayer,
Apr 16, 10:57pm
Great post. Totally agree.
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