court today
- Thread starter jessica31876
- Start date
jessica31876
New member
I discovered the issue. They have it in the accident report that my husband's light turned green seconds after Brandon Benton's light turned red. So the officers are all assuming he approached a yellow light and it turned red and my husbands light turned green this is not the case though. Here is how the lights work at that intersection and Penny I know you especially should know well this intersection since you lived here.
Brandon Benton approached the light as it had turned red. I dont know how far away he was when it turned red. But he was heading east on Hwy 50 towards CR 419/Chulouta Rd. After the light for eastbound traffic turned red the light for northbound traffic for Columbia School Rd (AKA 419) turned green for straight across 50 to Chulouta Rd. and left turn to go west on Hwy 50. It is green for about 30 seconds or so. Then it turned yellow. That takes a couple seconds. Probaly 5 or 6. Then it turned red. There is about a 3-4 second delay and then my husband's light turned green. He was first in line. So if you add that up the yellow light for east bound Hwy 50 is 3-4 seconds til red. Approximately 40 seconds for northbound traffic on 419 and then an additional 3-4 second delay til southband 419 gets their green (this is just a guess. It may be a few seconds off). So that is a total of 48 seconds. I have timed it and got aproximately 45 seconds for the cycle from red on Hwy 50 to green for southbound 419. This makes a big difference to the investigation between a couple second delay from red to green the police reported in the homicide report to the actual 45-60 seconds of time between light cycles that actually occurs at the intersection. This means that Brandon Benton was completely reckless in entering an intersection which had traffic moving in another direction almost a minute after his light turned red. I spoke to the second in command for the state of Florida Highway Patrol today and he said that is going to make a big difference if it turns out to be true. They cannot reissue the citation but they can charge him with criminal charges because that would be considered reckless. They are also redoing the investigation into how fast he was going when the impact occurred to see if he was speeding which will also make a difference in whether it is considered to be reckless.
If his driving is determined to be reckless then they can charge him with vehicular homicide, reckless driving with serious bodily injuries and reckless driving with property damage.
Brandon Benton approached the light as it had turned red. I dont know how far away he was when it turned red. But he was heading east on Hwy 50 towards CR 419/Chulouta Rd. After the light for eastbound traffic turned red the light for northbound traffic for Columbia School Rd (AKA 419) turned green for straight across 50 to Chulouta Rd. and left turn to go west on Hwy 50. It is green for about 30 seconds or so. Then it turned yellow. That takes a couple seconds. Probaly 5 or 6. Then it turned red. There is about a 3-4 second delay and then my husband's light turned green. He was first in line. So if you add that up the yellow light for east bound Hwy 50 is 3-4 seconds til red. Approximately 40 seconds for northbound traffic on 419 and then an additional 3-4 second delay til southband 419 gets their green (this is just a guess. It may be a few seconds off). So that is a total of 48 seconds. I have timed it and got aproximately 45 seconds for the cycle from red on Hwy 50 to green for southbound 419. This makes a big difference to the investigation between a couple second delay from red to green the police reported in the homicide report to the actual 45-60 seconds of time between light cycles that actually occurs at the intersection. This means that Brandon Benton was completely reckless in entering an intersection which had traffic moving in another direction almost a minute after his light turned red. I spoke to the second in command for the state of Florida Highway Patrol today and he said that is going to make a big difference if it turns out to be true. They cannot reissue the citation but they can charge him with criminal charges because that would be considered reckless. They are also redoing the investigation into how fast he was going when the impact occurred to see if he was speeding which will also make a difference in whether it is considered to be reckless.
If his driving is determined to be reckless then they can charge him with vehicular homicide, reckless driving with serious bodily injuries and reckless driving with property damage.
Last edited:
Julie Billingsley
The Ghost of Awesome Past
I'm so sorry. This injustice is just horrible.
Jessica, maybe check if your state has a law about yellow lights. In my state, Oregon, the law is rather unique and I know most states don't have this law, but check if your state does. If not, then maybe petition for it to become a law?
In Oregon, the yellow light requires all vehicles to stop if it is safely possible to do so. (part of Oregon law ORS 811.265). This law allows for criminal charges on running a red light because then the person has run not only the yellow, but the red, which is reckless endangerment at the very least. I do have to say I don't think this law has made much difference in the Portland Metro area. The red-light runners are just horrible. But if your state does have this law, then maybe it's worth reminding the justice system of it.
Jessica, maybe check if your state has a law about yellow lights. In my state, Oregon, the law is rather unique and I know most states don't have this law, but check if your state does. If not, then maybe petition for it to become a law?
In Oregon, the yellow light requires all vehicles to stop if it is safely possible to do so. (part of Oregon law ORS 811.265). This law allows for criminal charges on running a red light because then the person has run not only the yellow, but the red, which is reckless endangerment at the very least. I do have to say I don't think this law has made much difference in the Portland Metro area. The red-light runners are just horrible. But if your state does have this law, then maybe it's worth reminding the justice system of it.