Remember the Road Rage E/R Doc?
Dr. Christopher Thompson was an emergency room physician back on July 4, 2008. He’d had some run-ins with cyclists in his very hilly neighborhood but on this day he really took it to ’em. He engaged in a verbal battle then drove off, only to stop suddenly with the intent to have the cyclists crash into him. Two cyclists hit the back of his Mercedes, one went through the rear window and suffered very serious injuries.
Dr. Thompson was charged with felony road rage, among other charges. He made statements at the scene which gave police reason to believe he intentionally caused the crash to “teach them a lesson.” The trial was closely watched by the cycling community, including me on this page. Dr. Thompson fought the charges vigorously but was found guilty and sentenced to prison. He appealed…and lost... he served his time – and was ultimately released from prison.
Now, we can stop calling him “Doctor” Thompson.
According to an order issued by the CA Medical Board, Dr. Thompson medical license was revoked. Being convicted of a felony leads to a mandatory license revocation in most states. The Board order recites the facts, noting that Thompson told the responding police officer “I passed them up, and I stopped in front of them to teach them a lesson. I’m tired of them.”
The order revoked or suspended his “Physician’s and Surgeon’s Certificate G31475 issued to Christopher Thompson, MD.” The order became effective at 5:00 pm on February 24, 2012.
That road raging moment cost Thompson several years of life spent in prison, his medical license, and, I would suspect, a lot of money paid to the victims of his crime in civil claims… fortunately, the victims are alive to tell their tale…
© 2024.
Bravo! At last justice has been served!
Now if we can only find a way to stop DUI offenders from ever driving again while intoxicated. I suggest mandatory blinding in one eye/conviction.
It is incomprehensible to me, that criminal DUI offenders with multiple convictions are still driving and killing.
Judges who drink should be forced to recuse themselves from all DUI cases, since their wrist slaps must be a case of “There, but for the grace of God, go I!”.
Permanent license revocation is laughable, since that doesn’t prevent driving. Electronic or mechanical ignition interlocks can be defeated easily. Life imprisonment is an option, but is too expensive. Death may be justified, but it also takes too long and is expensive. We need something simple, quick, effective, and less expensive that will allow the criminal to have the possibility to have a productive life. Mandatory blinding would achieve all these goals humanely.
My solution to the DUI problem is mandatory confiscation and recycling of the vehicle after the first offense, and also mandatory confiscation etc. for any vehicle involved in an injury wreck with a vulnerable road user. Take away the license and they’ll drive anyway, permanently take away the car and driving becomes impossible. Also take away the car of anyone caught driving on a revoked license, the license was revoked for a reason and there is no right to drive, only to travel. You can travel with a bicycle or walking.