All day, I’ve been meaning to get back to this….
Yesterday, I said the city cops were being dumb if they weren’t letting the Highway Patrol take over the Benjamin wreck investigation. Then I was happy to say that they weren’t dumb, because they did.
Then, this morning, I read that that’s wrong, that CPD is still in control of the investigation:
Meanwhile, questions continued to pop up Wednesday about why Columbia police were in charge of the probe involving their soon-to-be mayor. Benjamin said in a statement that he had asked for another law enforcement agency “to participate in the investigation to avoid the appearance of favoritism.”
But Police Department spokesman Lewis said Columbia remained in charge of the probe. Sid Gaulden, a Highway Patrol spokesman, initially said his agency was investigating, but later said he had been mistaken.
In a statement late Wednesday afternoon, Gaulden said the city asked for help from the Highway Patrol just before 7:40 a.m., and a trooper arrived at the accident scene at 8:10 a.m.
Once there, the trooper spoke with Benjamin, finding him unimpaired, Gaulden said. The trooper then sought to speak to the driver of the other vehicle, but the woman had already been taken to the hospital, the statement said.
And that’s dumb. Not because I think they’re doing anything wrong, or covering anything up. They’re just doing unnecessary harm to their own reputation, and that of the mayor-elect, by creating a situation in which their integrity can be called into question.
And that doesn’t help anybody.
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The more I read about this incident, the more I believe Steve Benjamin did everything he could to insure this investigation was handled properly and that there would be no question of cover up, favoritism (a new word I am getting used to using), or some sort of other shenanigans. And I didn’t vote for him.
Everything except tell us his story of what happened.
He’s leaving that to the (other) lawyers…
If you’re in an accident, you’re telling me you can’t tell us your version of events?
Two simple questions would put this matter to rest:
“Was the light green?”
“Were you on the phone or texting at the time?”
His insurance company would not appreciate his just saying whatever he thinks happened, and when you get elected, you don’t give up all your rights. Heck, he isn’t even in office.
If you’ve ever been in even a fender bender, you may have found that the shock makes it difficult to be sure of what happened. He may not know any more whether the light was green, red, or yellow. Given the early hour, it is less likely he was in an active phone call or text session. Who would be expected to be awake?
The most curious thing to me is that his lights may not have been on, although his model vehicle has automatic lights (which can be overridden, but why would he do that?). It may be that there was a malfunction (an electrical malfunction in a German car–amazing! haha) and he assumed his lights were on (and they may not have been required to be on under the law, since it may have been within the hour before sunrise). It’s plenty bright along that stretch–fairly often I see cars well after dark driving without their lights on. His vehicle has automatic lights, so he would have assumed they were on, even if they weren’t, and been unable to figure it out by looking outside.
He may also feel it isn’t seemly to put out his version of events when the other driver is in no position to do so.
I think a lot can be determined by direct evidence–I think his vehicle has a black box device. There were witnesses who can establish the time, and perhaps the city can tell what color the light was. Witnesses say he did not appear to be speeding.
Kathryn,
I’ve been in a fender-bender. I spoke to the police right after it happened. Once you’ve told the story to the police, does it somehow change?
You seem to be trying to make a lot of excuses for the Mayor-elect without knowing any facts. I’m suggesting that the public would be better served by hearing the facts sooner versus later.
“Were you talking on the phone or texting at the time of the accident?” is a very simple question that could be answered now to remove that from the rumor mill.
“Was the light green?” is a question that should have been asked by the police on the scene, so I would expect it would already be in the police report. what’s the harm in telling the public exactly what he told the police?
As for the headlight issue, wouldn’t it be helpful to know where his trip started that morning? If he was coming from his home in Wood Creek, it would seem unlikely that he could drive 15 miles without his lights on starting at 5:00 a.m.
I just listened to Chief Carter’s press conference and now know that Mr. Benjamin’s trip started from a parking garage downtown.
Just to address a couple of your questions, Doug, WACH says that he was coming from the Hilton Hotel downtown and that his spokesman told them he was not texting at the time of the crash.
http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?list=195158&id=446493
I guess I’m just a weaker vessel. I have been so shaken up after a very minor fender bender–it was clearly the other guy’s fault–he turned left in front of me, whipping out from behind the car in the front of the left turn queue…my husband had to go back to determine that the guy couldn’t have been going left on a green arrow when I had a red light as he claimed, since there was no green arrow at that intersection….I was pretty sure I had the green light, but when he said he had a green arrow, I got confused.
I’m saying let’s not rush to judgment here.
I’m just guessing from 5000 miles away, but it sounds like it happened quickly and without warning. T-bone accidents are almost always a surprise to both parties.
Apropos of nothing, my mother-in-law was T-boned right in front of her house and the car door were jammed shut. Jaws of Life needed to get her out. Paramedics and police at the scene were sickened by the blood and brains and guts splashed all over the inside of the car, coating the windows. Wasn’t til they got her out they discovered that she had been transporting a gallon of marinara sauce.
If Steve Benjamin didn’t think his recollection of the accident would reflect negatively on him, I think he would have had something meaningful to say by now.
I ran a stop sign once because it was obscured by a tree branch until I almost got to it. It caused an accident. As I was in and out of consiousness for the next few hours at the ER, before going to surgery, I didn’t hesitate to tell the cops I ran the stop sign. What is the point of lying? There is NEVER anything wrong with telling the truth no matter what an insurance company lawyer might want you to do.
Benjamin is doing a Tiger Woods and keeping quiet while the situation explodes with rumor and innuendo all around him. He’s turning this into his Chappaquiddick. He appears oblivious to what this says about his judgement, not to mention ethics.
He hasn’t said anything, perhaps, out of consideration for the other person who lies in the hospital in critical condition.
He has NOT lied to the public. He may not know what happened–just because you did, doesn’t mean he does.
and Chappaquiddick is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? Sheesh!
Teddy Kennedy had been drinking quite a bit, was in a car alone with a young woman not his wife who was also a subordinate, and he incontrovertibly drove it into the water. Absolutely none of those applies here. Not even anything like it.