Very serious situation. R.I.P and condolences to the girl's family.
I won't comment on the situation, because all the facts are not clear and speculation will get you no wheres. I don't even think this thread should be open honestly.
If he's still available at Phili's 3rd I hope Burke takes him. He's a really solid player who just made a mistake in his life. Just like Matt Frattin who overcame his problems and is now a very good prospect. (Bell's situation is more serious though)
Frattin never hurt anyone. But now he is a highly regarded prospect like you said.
But imo anyone who drinks and drives is an idiot. What a absolute joke if he did. How many people need to die for the message to be clear? Outrageous. Destroying families and ****.
Just reading some stuff about Underage DUI's in Alberta which is a bit interesting as it looks like they're a little more strict in regards to the YOA.
As leo said, you have to caution what will happen as everything is still very preliminary, but speculating is a part of a message board as well.
Based on that notion, I think Bell is likely at risk of being convicted for Involuntary Manslaughter along with an Underage DUI. Even without priors and his role in the community, I think the courts might come down on him with jail time in the range of 6-12 months followed by an extended period of probation and community service.
We'll see how it plays out, from a hockey standpoint it's certainly going to cripple his draft stock but again as leo mentioned that's really secondary in the wake of this tragedy.
IF the facts come out that he was indeed drinking and driving, and gets a petty sentence, something is seriously wrong with Canadian law. Only time will tell what happens with regards to his health and what happens to his hockey career. I'm the same age as Myles Bell. Every kid our age is very well informed by the dangers of drinking and driving, giving him a slap on the wrist will be a disgrace. R.I.P. To the girl that died and prayers to her family. Only time will dictate what happens.
If this guy wasn't such a highly ranked player for the draft, there would be a lot less compassion for him on this site. Just sayin'. What a horrible time for him.
"This is an incredibly difficult situation for me and our family as we are close with the young lady who died, as she was a close friend of our daughter," said Pats president Brent Parker in a statement on the team's website. "She was a beautiful young lady and she will be missed.
I hold back judgement and feelings for any of this until more is known, you can call Bell a fool for driving drunk (if he was) but you can also call the girl a fool for getting in the car with a drunk driver (once again if he was).
Only reason I can think of is you want to see him get off easy.
Doesn't surprise me in the least. Much like the original poster I quoted you completely missed my point (that this thread isn't a debate about drunk driving as difficult as you seem to find that).
Can't recall what Heatley got.. Altough IIRC, alcohol wasn't involved.
Heatley was not drunk when he had his accident. He also got a lenient punishment because the Snyders did not want to see Heatley go to prison.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raym11
I hold back judgement and feelings for any of this until more is known, you can call Bell a fool for driving drunk (if he was) but you can also call the girl a fool for getting in the car with a drunk driver (once again if he was).
I realise it is going a bit off topic, but here in Sweden you can actually lose your driver's licence or receive other forms of legal punishment if you are a passenger to a drunk driver, depending on the circumstances.
IF he was driving drunk then throw the book at him. I don't care if he's a hockey player, driving drunk and killing a young girl is something pretty freaking serious and the law needs to come down on him. No special treatment.
Comparing it to Cizikas' is pretty unfair. Cizikas' situation happened while playing a sport and was thought of as to be a very flukey situation or complete accident. It's well known and documented that the family of the deceased boy in the accident was adamant that they did not want charges pressed as they too felt it was just a tragic accident that happens in the nature of a game.
Comparing that to potentially drunk driving and speeding is completely different and not even close imo.
This was unfortunately the epitome of poor decision making and one that Bell will suffer the consequences of for a long while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Franck
I realise it is going a bit off topic, but here in Sweden you can actually lose your driver's licence or receive other forms of legal punishment if you are a passenger to a drunk driver, depending on the circumstances.
I'll be curious to see what a tox screen reveals and how/if it will impact the court's decision if she was also over the legal limit.
Last edited by The Scouting Report: 05-01-2011 at 10:53 AM.
IF he was driving drunk then throw the book at him. I don't care if he's a hockey player, driving drunk and killing a young girl is something pretty freaking serious and the law needs to come down on him. No special treatment.
I think it will have more to do with the fact that he's 17 than being a hockey player.
Regardless, this could be (if he was drinking/speeding) a horrible decision that he has to live with for the rest of his life.
Heatley was not drunk when he had his accident. He also got a lenient punishment because the Snyders did not want to see Heatley go to prison.
Heatley wasn't legally drunk, but he had been drinking. There is a difference.
That's why when they "Alcohol" may have been involved, it can simply be the presence of alcolohol in the car, even if it was just being transported. Another consideration is he fell asleep at the wheel. Single car accidents, this is often the case.
I still can't believe how poor are laws in Canada. How being totally responsible for knowing the effect of alcohol before you start drinking, nobody forces you to drink, you always have possibilities to NOT use your car and use it anyway once intoxicated? Everything that lead you to a car manslaughter is a series of conscient decisions of your own. So why killing someone with a car while driving intoxicated (or even just dangerous driving) deserves ridiculous sentences, like 1 to 3 years ? Damn it's a murder... If you kill anybody with a gun you'll be sentenced to life but hey, get yourself 12 beers and aim him at full speed on the road and everything will be just fine.
By the way, if guilty, this kid should never have the opportunity to play in the NHL ever. Not even one chance. How many chances the girl he killed will have again ?
I still can't believe how poor are laws in Canada. How being totally responsible for knowing the effect of alcohol before you start drinking, nobody forces you to drink, you always have possibilities to NOT use your car and use it anyway once intoxicated? Everything that lead you to a car manslaughter is a series of conscient decisions of your own. So why killing someone with a car while driving intoxicated (or even just dangerous driving) deserves ridiculous sentences, like 1 to 3 years ? Damn it's a murder... If you kill anybody with a gun you'll be sentenced to life but hey, get yourself 12 beers and aim him at full speed on the road and everything will be just fine.
By the way, if guilty, this kid should never have the opportunity to play in the NHL ever. Not even one chance. How many chances the girl he killed will have again ?
Bolded for Un-truth. A 17 yr old who causes someone else's death accidentally with a gun is charged with manslaughter, and even those who are shooting intentionally (i.e Charged with murder) never get anything close to life (especially if they have no previous criminal record).
I highly doubt this individual would consider everything "just fine" whether he gets no jail time or life.
any ot posts should be deleted, give us info about this accident and once we have all the info maybe speculate what the consequences will/ could realistically be.
Comparing it to Cizikas' is pretty unfair. Cizikas' situation happened while playing a sport and was thought of as to be a very flukey situation or complete accident. It's well known and documented that the family of the deceased boy in the accident was adamant that they did not want charges pressed as they too felt it was just a tragic accident that happens in the nature of a game.
They also asked the community to move forward while celebrating the life of their son. Its unfortunate that it seems to come up yearly without much concern for the victim, or the wishes of the family.
That said, I think the responsable thing to do is allow the facts to come out and allow a court to decide how guilty Bell is.
Bolded for Un-truth. A 17 yr old who causes someone else's death accidentally with a gun is charged with manslaughter, and even those who are shooting intentionally (i.e Charged with murder) never get anything close to life (especially if they have no previous criminal record).
I highly doubt this individual would consider everything "just fine" whether he gets no jail time or life.
If charged with murder and tried as an adult you always get life. How long you spend in jail depend on parole and sentencing but you'll always get life for an adult murder conviction.
