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A good friend and co-worker of mine was killed on Oct. 5 in Oak Grove. He was on his motorcycle stopped at a red light, waiting to make a left-hand turn. His name was Kelly Linder, and, yes, he was wearing a helmet, which was of course a detail that was left out of news reports. Kelly was a very attentive rider. I have ridden with him several times on bike runs and just around here and there.

The woman that hit him from behind reportedly admitted that she was on her cell phone but then changed her story and told the police officer that the sun was in her eyes and she didn’t see Kelly.

This accident happened at noon, so the sun was straight up in the sky. She also stated that her speedometer was broken so she had no idea how fast she was going.

As it turns out, this woman had just gotten a ticket two months ago for being on her phone while driving. After the accident she was allowed to go home with her father, whom had come to the scene.

He just happens to be a retired police officer.

My question is why was she allowed to go home? Shouldn’t she have gone to jail?

I am pretty sure that if I had been the driver, I would be sitting in jail right now. This woman needs to have her driver’s license canceled because it is inimical to public safety. She needs to go to prison for a good 10 years. She should also have to pay Kelly’s family at least the amount of money that he would have made the rest of his working life!

If a drunk driver goes to jail because he could have killed someone, doesn’t it make sense that this woman, who was irresponsibly driving distracted because she was on her phone and killed an innocent man, should go to prison?

This woman got to go home after the accident; Kelly on the other hand, got to go to the morgue.

Rod Anderson
Albert Lea