Failed justice — alleged street racing killer of pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado gets off with just 90 days in jail

Pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado, a victim of our streets. And our legal system.

Sorry Jorge.

America let you down.

Or more precisely, San Bernardino County let you down, along with a court system that inexplicably denied you the justice you deserved.

You came to this country to live out your dream of becoming a professional cyclist. We sent you back in a coffin, the victim of two then-high school students who couldn’t manage to keep their feet off the gas pedal.

And then let the driver who killed you off with the barest slap on the wrist, as if your all-to-brief life had no meaning or value.

Less time than he might have gotten for killing a dog, in fact.

A lot less.

It was over two years ago, in April, 2010, that you were riding on Greenspot Road in Highland, just north of San Bernardino, training for your new role as a rider for the Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team, founded by Compton’s own former national crit champion Raahsaan Bahati.

It was your big break.

A chance to prove yourself as a rising rider on a new pro team with a then-promising future.

You had no way of knowing, as you rode along that country road, that your dream would end at age 27, in the field on your right.

Maybe you reacted to those cars zooming towards you. driving far too fast. You probably saw one try to pass the other at around 80 mph, and watched in horror as the other driver cut hard to the left to keep him from passing. That sent the first car, driven by Patrick Roraff, back to the right, where he hit the shoulder and lost control, skidding across the road directly into you.

You probably hit your brakes and tried to swerve.

But it was too late.

At that speed, nothing you did or might have done would have made any difference.

I wonder if you muttered an obscenity as you saw the situation unfold. Or did you whisper one last prayer, or the name of a loved one just before the out-of-control car barreled into you, slamming you into the bushes on your right?

Were you aware of what was happening? Did you know you were dying there alone on the side of the road, thousands of miles from the people you loved?

Or did you slip mercifully into oblivion, a loss of consciousness masking the pain from your broken body?

The young men who took your life were arrested, and eventually, charged with your murder.

But that’s where the wheels of justice seemed to slowly slip off the tracks.

The long wait for charges to be filed combined with endless legal delays to push any promise of justice back time and again.

Meanwhile, Roraff and co-defendant Brett Michael Morin, who was driving the other car, were able to graduate from Redlands East Valley High School. And even with a pending homicide charge, Roraff remained the star of his high school soccer team, and went on to play soccer at the University of Redlands. Perhaps foreshadowing the leniency to come, the judge even gave permission for him to travel to Texas with his team.

God forbid that killing another person should be enough to negatively impact someone’s athletic career.

Even though yours ended that day at Roraff’s hands.

To be fair, he did say he was sorry.

It looked, ever so briefly, like you were going to get the justice you deserved when Patrick Roraff finally changed his plea to guilty. Given the seriousness of the charges — felony vehicular homicide with gross negligence and a serious felon enhancement — he should have faced serious prison time.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, the judge imposed a sentence that is far closer to a pat on the back than a slap on the wrist.

Roraff was sentenced on Monday to just 90 days in jail, with three years probation, along with community service.

Ninety lousy days. And probably a lot less than that, given this state’s over-crowded jails.

That’s less that three months for what was initially described as an illegal street race  — a felony in the state of California, by the way, for which neither driver was charged — resulting in a man’s death.

And let’s be clear. This was not an accident.

Your death was the entirely foreseeable consequence of a conscious decision to use two potentially deadly motor vehicles as oversized Hot Wheels toys.

You were just collateral damage.

The court used this case to send a message — that killing another human being while recklessly endangering the public is no big deal.

So go ahead and do whatever the hell you want on the roads, because there won’t be any serious consequences.

Especially if you have athletic skills, evidently.

They might as well have thrown Roraff a party for decreasing the excess cyclist population in the county.

It matters.

Not just because you were denied the justice you so richly deserved. But because cyclists are vulnerable on the streets, subject to the whims and careless actions of those with whom we share them.

It’s the protection we receive from the police and courts — or don’t — that dictates whether those streets will be survivable. And on that count, this court failed us miserably, putting every cyclist at greater risk.

Maybe Roraff is deserving of a second chance. But by failing to give him the sort of sentence his crime called for, the legal system missed an opportunity to show things like this can’t, and won’t, be tolerated.

And making it that much more likely that it will happen again.

There’s no word on when Roraff will begin his sentence.

It’s possible that his jail time may be delayed so he can compete again this season. If not, he’ll do his time, and be free to play again; maybe even transferring to a larger school now that this is no longer hanging over his head.

Why he received this gift from the court, I have no idea. I could speculate, but it would be nothing but a guess.

And not a pretty one, at that.

The sudden guilty plea suggests that this may have been a plea bargain. If so, I would question whether any District Attorney who signed off on a deal like this is fit to remain in office.

If not, I hope local voters will keep this case in mind when the judge comes up for reelection.

And why Roraff’s co-defendant continues to fight his charges when he could get a sweet deal like this is beyond me.

Maybe he’s not a star athlete.

To say I’m disgusted is to put it mildly.

I’m sorry, Jorge Alvarado.

We failed you.

You deserved better. You deserved justice.

But like far too many people who needlessly die while riding a bike, you’re not going to get it.

And absolutely nothing about this case will keep it from happening again.

……..

Update: Cyclist/attorney Dj Wheels fills in some of the blanks in this case.

According to information on the website for the San Bernardino County Superior Court, the sentence was imposed by judge William Jefferson Powell, who was appointed to the court by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

Roraff was sentenced to 90 days in county jail, and taken into custody immediately after the hearing. Which means he should be back on the streets by early November at the latest, followed by three years of supervised probation; the judge also ordered his license revoked for a period to be determined by the DMV. 

And Roraff was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, half of which must involve discussion of the dangers of reckless driving. 

The terms of his probation also prohibit the possession of deadly weapons; in his case, maybe that should include motor vehicles.

40 comments

  1. karL says:

    I would be interested in your question being answered as I agree there is speculation at play.

    I do not see the same distinction between most commuting and drag racing that you make. For me the decision to drive at all is the decision to have a wreck needlessly- to consider those that will die from such a decision, for sure, expendable.

    We know that people under 25 are not mature but we let them drive a decade earlier. WE know that hybrid cars do not get any fuel savings from there expensive redundancy but rather it only allows for rapid acceleration that if we went without combined with greater reliance on more rational choices everybody would win and survive to boot.

    I also know that people under 25- I mean there is a great technicolor film with the planetarium right? About rebelling regardless of the consequences even if mistitled to suggest there isn’t ample cause?

    Most likely adults, over 25 for sure, put those wheels specifically in the hands of college kids to be, and didn’t just engineer, build, sell, etc. them.

    ANY parent who lets any child drive, who does not do everything they can to stop them from owning or operating a car, should be liable and in every case if prison is to be served at least serve it with them and preferably instead of them.

    Especially now that the moment the pedal hits the medal or the speed or deviation from agreed upon routes occurs your phone can go off if not have a dime dropped automatically reporting the car as being illegally operated- operated without your permission.

    But our culture is to look the other way. TO be able to claim like Bart Simpson “…didn’t do it!!:. The same parents who hate thatshow the most give permission for there kids to work so they can save up money to come up with a down payment instead of learning anything in junior high.etc. Even families which ‘require’ there kids to wait till marriage and don’t let them marry early send them off in cars which is of course rational in it’s perverse way- the only chance of protecting the antisocial is by keeping them off bus’s and trains, having them interact only with metal on metal or if flesh some deviant foreigner out pedaling and then only briefly.

    You have no hope for these kids being better reached in college then in storage. You don’t mention how long in years they’ll be with threat of suspended sentence- forced to meet and talk, to do public service, to alllow parents of children slain by cars to confront them, to themselves point the finger more fairly at all of us, you seem to want to cry last, and deny them not just childhood but humanity.

    It is worse to drive drunk, or even buzzed, especially at 30 something, then drag race as a kid.

    Yet the primalness of your peer, of the finality for him, appeals successfully to reflexive violence no spell checking or eloquence makes unrecognisable. I won’t be having the need tothink about how there walking around right now, not in protective custody, vulnerable. I dare them thouigh to show up and give you face time. If I was there parole officer I would require it.

    I write as someone who was criminally assaulted continouslyo formonhths earlier this year and had our c ontract sheriff’s arguing jail would not change my accuser, but I pointed out it would stop his offending for the duration of his stay. Can you make this claim? You suggest that sacrificing there liberty would deter others, but would it? More then them themselves sharing there experience? More then them working with us now to speak against the industry or even better say how it’s worth the price in life to have the ‘freedom?’

    Cars are not weapons- it’s not there drivers who kill with them, it’s them, it’s driving, that does the trick. It’s there flaw that proves daily fatal, and it’s for us to take them off the market that has become primary for them now but was better served by other choices even then when it’s market now only allows for happy healthy dealers who have been shut down for be so less ‘profitable’ to the factory owners only then there perverse outlets.

    It is not complicated.

    You can’t forgive because you are guilty yourself. You want a world where we share the streets with them but that world is like a rural one with it’s own dealers having inventory owned by the dealer for over a year, who would be happy to sell mazda’s exposed to hills prior to sale instead of subsidise the world that had them driven off the boat to expensive destruction as by then among other problems was there beying weeks ormonths past there sale date.

    IN Compton pensioners expect us to have cities who do better subsidise with higher interest rates on bonds there retirements. To treat them wiht kid gloves for being civil in there service while the rest of us have lost our pensions working for nonprofits perhaps or even defense contractors.

    It is cars that bankrupt cities. It is cars that provide bloated transportation departments, leave creditors hungering for what might be held as sacred now. It is not teenagers who we provide with parking garages in high school and hypocrisy with almost every breath we take who took his life. It is not our highest calling to bike faster then anyone ever has before. It may have been the deceased’s but for those of us who survive closure should not be so easy. We are occupying countries to feed the cars driven as you want to imprison only for going beyond. Your line drawn in ash is barely visible on the sea of blood licensing for urban use imposes not just in the power plant zipcodes but also those who live on top of the coal or still even oil.

    I tapped my way several blocks yesterday in Baltimore where anice house is now half off from ove half a decade ago, now 5,000 instead of 11,000 or so dollars, and lots of families are shown enjoying there front yards;… and I saw something toO relevent to recall at this time so till next time……

  2. […] experiences; Second Avenue Sagas looks forward to not missing the New York MTA MetroCard; and BikingInLA shares a harrowing story of traffic justice denied. Email Share […]

  3. karL says:

    pardon me: “by my ABUSER” I meant not “acuser”

  4. KillMoto says:

    Could a concerned citizen forward the court transcript to the state DMV, asking them to (permanently) revoke the license of this person who has proven – beyond all reasonable doubt – to be a reckless driver?

  5. Opus the Poet says:

    Are judges in CA elected or appointed? If a murderer was given 90 days in jail with most of it likely to be suspended because of overcrowding in TX they would be subject to a recall even if the victim was “just a cyclist”.

    • bikinginla says:

      Judges are elected here, which is actually a horrible way to pick a judge; judges should be experts on law, not politics and popularity. Although it does come in handy in cases like this.

      However, I doubt there will be enough outrage in a relatively rural, small town county like this. I suspect there are more people who would agree with this sentence than recognize just how unconscionable it really is.

  6. Nat says:

    So do the judge and prosecuting attorney have names? Why didn’t you name them?

    • bikinginla says:

      I haven’t been able to find the names yet. If you or anyone else knows, let me know.

      However, as a rule, I don’t like to name people online unless the names are already widely known, for fear of what can happen as a result. I remember very clearly that after the Mandeville Canyon case, not only did Dr. Christopher Thompson receive death threats, but many of them were directed to the wrong Dr. Thompson.

  7. […] first is BikingInLA’s post about a driver getting 90 days in jail for murdering a cyclist. Failed justice — street racing killer of pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado gets off with just 90 days in … I wish this was a joke (it is, but a cruel one) but the driver actually got only 90 days (and given […]

  8. Gerrold Adler says:

    I just finished a 16 mile bike ride on the streets of San Diego, National City and Chula Vista. This post made me sick. I am several times older than Jorge and have been incredibly lucky. Less time than for killing a dog – or a cat, for that matter, even if it is killing birds in your yard. I wish I could vote against that DA and that judge. Thanks for posting this.
    Gerbod
    San Diego

  9. wes oishi says:

    Perhaps a lawyer could shed some light on this?

    • bikinginla says:

      Funny you should say that. I’ve just updated this piece with additional information from Dj Wheels.

      • KARL says:

        It wasn’t as easy to find the updated section as it being on the bottom in italics etc. might make that seem- i visited the da’s site on the way to find it (finally searchignhtis window for other mentions of “Dj”).

        I think that giving us to November to contribute to the venue’s he’s to spend THREE THOUSAND MINUTES IN WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO LEAVE OR ASSERT ANY FIFTH AMENDMENT IN WITHOUT BEING JAILED AGAIN thereafter is plenty of time for us. Who should we require he listen, be questioned by, be seen breaking bread with? On what livestream, which online archives forever, not subject to takedown action ever, can hebecome our savior in the best case via? If only the judge had ‘jurisdiction’ to require the small business’s that fed the racing habit, his parents, the OEM’s for the original unrecalled ‘car’ and tires etc. he used attend. 180,000 seconds of his life are our’s to render car’s terror time over are our’s. Waste them and tred in even deeper blood.

        • karL says:

          180,000 seconds of his life are our’s to render car’s terror time over!. Waste them as usual however grumpilly polished and you’ll just be treading almost all of us out into even deeper bloodier mire’s of actual responsibility- as THAT is _also_ always possible as well… __instead__.

  10. Pierre-Yves CARLOT says:

    Soccers are suckers and soccers in speed car races are a sucking race ; not human, automobilisticus primary suckis

    • KARL says:

      Could someone translate Pierre’s contribution for me? It makes me laugh but there might be more to it then that.

      In general efforts to treat perpetrators based upon qualities of the victim are politically incorrect. They argue some victims are less innocent then others, and those who choose there victims well should essentially be rewarded for doing so.

      In this case efforts to show how innocent the victim was are not unwelcome, nor are however racist etc. atacks upon the drivers by this author. We may all have red blood but on this planet great amusement can be found in the Wright Brother’s notion of flight promoting peace -if that’s correct- in retrospect, and cars killing is usually the elite at recreation or liesure kiling people working harderor taking seriously being stewads of this planet- meak, righteous, people too often of color slaughtered by the ruling class and those who profit from hustling it into this sport.

      simple concepts like putting cars in tunnels underground instead of transit users so the surface can no longer be used for a dragstrip at least not in cars I learned are done where the people are most empowered to have there will imposed already.

      I think all people who own or drive cars should be punished when someone dies at there hands. Although nearly insignificant numbers of us are not among them we do exist, we do matter,and we must throw stones. The ‘sport’ mode of the Forbes endorsed coal slurry guzzling death moble is the antithesis of specialised’s dealers being able to cap it’s speed at 30 kmh to govern us being compliant. How can someone putting five figures worth of lithium -at public expense!!!- under there floor board ‘unfettered’ control of it from the Dickpit be accepted even applauded with only the caveat that doing so wastes more fuel then a hummer can -whippee!- while we are not allowed to do so on a bike (if we want to!). The need for speed should not be satisfied in public, or it should, but it s hould not be a question of class NOR especially misguided index of such position.

      Cars are used to drag rac e because we tolerate there marketing not on fitness for the purpose we legalise there design, manufacture, accomidation in public spaces but rather for there suitability to win or flee or routinely kill with.

      It was not a lack of skill, but a absurd prowess inpower over steering of a LEGAL vehicle.

      LEgal vehicles should not be so dangerously fun. Bikes are even more fun and much less dangerous.

      Bikes can’t have more then 49 sized explosion volume in ther eengines but take a test then anyone can pass basically afte ra few minutes of ‘study’ and NO limit to even the wattage or torque or feet per secondwhen empty is specified ina era that for many years has had aftermarket retrofitablity of all existing stock being an affordable option.

      America is not a racetrack. Our roads are buiklt with public funds with utilitarian purpose.

      as long as old cars are legally driven on them we are complicit in the sacrifice of people for sport. It is not worth it and those who support taking such lives either have no life or should be in prison already.

      Magazines that publish adds specifiying how little time it takes to accelerate to a speed there routine customes will be unable to control and not run over anyone mindingthere own business inther eright of way but canj’t show someone smoking need more then boycot from us. The familes of those who have lost members are a class- and they should take action. Even if it’s legal to make such machines, it should not be profitable tmaximise the number of fatalities just because doingso pays yhour bills.

      ONe thing nobody can disagree about- no amount of torture huliation or punishment of thoseo ‘unlucky’ enough to not get away from such scenes will makemuch difference. To engage in that is to therefore condone it’s c ontinuance. It is business as usual. Naughty naughty driver! A minute later wow a hundred miles per hour withotu having to deal with some poor grad student at the gas station! Be ashamed- stop bulshitting, that goat has bleated long enough.

  11. Pierre-Yves CARLOT says:

    Jorge, you will be for ever on the cyclo road ; and shame on America!!!

  12. Alex says:

    Who hired Karl?

  13. […] the lack of justice served last week in San Bernardino county, California, can be found at the blog BikingInLA.  Sadly reminiscent of the July 2005 accident that took Amy Gillett and severely injured a […]

  14. untigreams@yahoo.com says:

    VERY SAD STORY.

  15. Brett'sCousin says:

    Just a note, im the cousin of Brett, one of the accused boys in this and he is a star athlete, im not really going to give my opinion on this situation but I will say that the court has been unfair in many other cases as well. Its a shame. I personally dont believe that the boys deserve big jail time, due to the fact that jail sometimes turns ppl into criminals. He is not a careless boy, boys will be boys and maybe throwing the book at someone should really be about The Bible. We are no greater than our brothers and sisters, we will all have to face a higher power, our Lord one day. So as we sit here and wish for harsher punishment on our brothers and sisters, that makes us no greater than the person we are wishing bad or “justice” on. Only God can judge us, the Bible promises Hell to those who kill or wish bad upon our brothers and sisters. Fight evil with a blessing and you shall be rewarded. FYI, I would say the same thing had it been a family or friend of mine killed. God forbid

    • J says:

      “the Bible promises Hell to those who kill”

      Tell your cousin good luck with that.

    • TQ says:

      God does forbid. He forbids murder.

      Your cousin should have had the book thrown at him, and I’m all for the Bible in this case, as long as it’s thrown directly at your cousin’s thorax at 70 miles an hour, carelessly or otherwise.

    • bikinginla says:

      You badly misunderstand the scriptures if you think only God can judge anyone. After all, Jesus himself submitted to judgement before the laws of man, did he not?

      The laws of God and the justice system are two separate things. God may forgive Brett and Patrick if they ask his forgiveness, but that does not absolve them of responsibility for their actions here on earth, any more than it does anyone else.

      Personally, I think God would be more offended if we did not fight for justice for one of his children. But what do I know?

      I will face my God in my own time; I do not need you to hypocritically sit in judgment of me or anyone else for whatever flaws you may perceive in our hearts or actions.

      Before you misuse scripture in defense of the indefensible, perhaps you should consider Matthew 7:5 first.

    • Jeff S says:

      Not all of us believe in your fairy tales.

      Clearly the threat of hell wasn’t enough to urge your brother to act in a reasonable manner. Legal punishment is as much about creating a deterrent as anything else. 90 days in county jail is not a deterrent, especially when the “nice white boys” tend to get placed in the safe cells.

    • Austin says:

      Your cousin and his friend should be forced to ride bikes and have careless teens crash into them while they are riding. Put them in a hospital, clinging to life, and eventually in a coffin. Now, does this seem real to you? it is what your cousin did to this pro cyclist who was already at a top level, not some wanna be pro that made it on a college team. You should have not replied to this and kept your mouth shut because you sided with the murderers, not the victim.

  16. Karl says:

    Goodness I’m not biblical scholar but dare say I see no other profits in the midst of this.

    I appreciate the cousin’s input as it is uncensored and sincere even if his effort beyond that comes across as mere sophistry.

    He’s obviousl yon the right track. Does he say don’t judge? I just checked and he says at least otherwise- and regardign specks…

    ever had a brother take on outo for you? Without tweasers? I
    I’m new to it but I can imagine its’ like the scene in efverybody loves raymond whre he chases after his wife and bloodies her foot gettin gthe splinter out- there romantic spousal bonds having her protests even interrrupted by her c oncession to the effect that she understood this was for him as well the ony way to clear his vision, to learn and change from his prior ways.

    A child among us speaks his heart and has his kin references with mob rule. This is not my country- this is sociopathic spandex- the past occupiers of bike routes, notthe people who shall pave overthem with actual roads worthy of all mena nd women needing to street.

    YOu could of easally killed a rider in a baby carraige underhte influence ofsome olympic downhill mile per minute bike porn from france. They used paths for other then getting from one place to another- and respecting us who do that is why we die like lemmings even when we are trying to get the groceries home or just home ourselves.

    That’s not what they are ther efor and it’s there only crime. Drag raciing= pedalling for exercise- same difference and you’ll deny this to your grave or become part ofthe problem hoepfully well before then.

    There are race tracks and parks etc. Treadmills and simulators.

    Cruising on even just orally taken energy gels is no less sinful then onthe grime left after the garbage is burnt to run the subwoofers in the mansions. Exercise is plenty for for the righteous and doesnt’ require a special trip just for it. Get a life.

  17. Karl says:

    I meant to say thata to anaayone who would other ==wise be taking onethemselvs…..

  18. TW says:

    I own and drive both a cars, motorcycles & bicycles. This piece is class warfare. It was not murder but was manslaughter, an accident. very tragic. It is the price we pay to live free, to make choices, to ride as a minority usually among machines. It is a shame and the driver will have to bear this burden. Think about it, at those speeds an additional 1/2 second, the combined closing speeds more would have put the rider well past this event. Tragic accidents like this have & will occur as long as youth is free to make bad decisions. And they will bear responsibilities for their actions.Some prefer a police state. as big brother will use the pleas for mob justice to hang ’em high and use tragedy to erode the Constitution. Be careful what you wish for you or your kid will be next.

    • bikinginla says:

      Bullshit, TW.

      The drivers in this case were racing one another in a clear violation of the law, which makes anything that happens as a result far from an accident.

      They knew, or should have know, what could have happened as a result of their idiotic inability to keep their damn feet off the gas pedal, and now a man is dead as a result.

      You yourself note the speeds they were traveling; had they observed the speed limit, Jorge would probably be alive today.

      It’s time to stop apologizing for killer drivers, and hold them accountable for their actions.

      And what the hell is this crap about class warfare? As far as I know, no one, anywhere, has made this about social or economic class.

      If you’re trying to tell us Roraff got off because his family is rich — which is not something I’m aware of — then, and only then, would class matter in this discussion.

    • bikinginla says:

      Oh, and TW? If I had a kid, I’d hope he was man enough to face the consequences of his actions, just as my father raised me to do.

    • Jeff S says:

      And your kid may be next to get killed, so be careful what YOU choose to blow off as an accident.

      Typically, deaths that result from the commission of a felony are automatically treated as murder. The degree of that murder depends on the seriousness of the crime.

      Unfortunately, and as you have so skillfully demonstrated, our country is quick to label any action that happens behind the wheel of an automobile an “accident”. Oops, I killed your wife. Ooops, I crippled your daughter for life. Oops.

  19. Still Upset says:

    Its one thing to drag race a short distance in some remote area with nobody else around, another to be openly racing, passing and cutting each other off like a Sunday NASCAR throw-down without regard for any safety at all. Both are wrong, but this is much more wrong. Part of the problem is REV high school and its history of protecting its Jocks. Around the same time another jock attacked a coach. He didn’t lose his fancy college scholarship and nothing happened to him either. This punk was a REV soccer player, off to college in Redlands now anyway. This wasn’t even a bump in the road of his life. Shameful sentance.

  20. A Driver says:

    I’m a motorist and not a bicyclist. I know that people makes mistakes on the roads, but this is way, way, way beyond mere mistakes. This was a crime and a tragedy.

    I think these sentences were absolutely outrageous and unjust. This was vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving, and those young drivers should be doing hard time. A mere 90 days in jail is reprehensible!

    Just terrible what happened, and the slaps on the wrist are as awful as it gets. This isn’t “bicyclist vs. driver,” this is “civilization vs. mayhem.” That judge has no business being on the bench.

  21. Jeffrey says:

    For all those apologist and bad actors – that thing screaming up in your rear view mirror is – karma.

  22. bikinginla says:

    Jared, it’s my policy to delete disrespectful, insulting or threatening comments. And yours certainly qualifies as the first two.

    This collision occurred in broad daylight, not night. And the driver made a mistake? Only if you consider losing control whole speeding on the wrong side of the road — in what was originally reported as street racing incident — a “mistake.”

    As you point out, I don’t know the people involved in this case, something for which I quite glad; I am also very glad I don’t have the misfortune of knowing someone as rude as you.

    If you think you can manage to comment in a respectful manner, try again. If not, don’t let the door hit you.

  23. Suong says:

    I am a beginner cyclist who just graduated college and just got my first road bike. I live in Highland, and was looking for viable bike routes today. Back in 2010 I was a senior at REV high school. I had heard of something happening on Greenspot but didn’t know the details. Today, I googled Greenspot Road as it seemed to have a fairly high risk of hazard. I was deeply saddened when I stumbled upon this article and the story of Jorge’s death. Imagine my utter shock and horror when I recognized the names of the two defendants. I knew them from middle school. Patrick was a kind and friendly person. I am just stunned that they could have caused such grief and suffering. I wish it were not so.

    From the articles and stories I have read, it seemed like Jorge was a great guy to be around. My condolences go to everyone affected by his passing. How peculiar that a person’s life connects to so many others by such fine threads.

  24. Javier says:

    I live here in Highland and I used to take the back roads to visit family in Forest Falls. While driving, I’ve had too may close calls with idiots that speed. I didn’t know Jorge but always said a prayer for him when I passed the area where he was killed. If Jorge was my friend, brother, son I would want those jackasses arrested for life but it doesn’t bring Jorge back. It’s normal to want revenge. May Jorge rest in peace.

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