Army Reservist Struck, Killed On Highway 69 (Dumped in Baltimore)

[DoYouEverWonder]

Yahoo News

An Army reservist home on leave was struck and killed as she walked along Highway 69 early Friday morning.

Authorities said that shortly before 4 a.m., dispatchers received calls from drivers alerting them to a pedestrian on the highway. A few minutes later, police received calls about the accident.

KMBC's Donna Pitman reported that the driver of an SUV was apparently unable to avoid hitting the 24-year-old woman.

This just pisses me off. I'm sorry. The way W & Co treat the troops is beyond disgusting. There is no reason why this woman should have been walking home. Where are all those folks with the "Support Our Troops" decals? Where are the airlines with money from the bail out, who should be giving them free rides? Where is Rummie who should be making sure these folks can go home for a break and not be dumped in freaking Baltimore.

[Cappurr]

1. Damn good questions

And perhaps Rummy should be asked them. And Congress too. There should certianly be enough funds to bring these GI's to their home towns. And the airlines owe us big time. This would be a good way to pay what they got back.

One thing I don't understand....military could always travel free on any airline on "standby" to get home from the theater. When did that change?

[Sick of Bullshit]

3. I have never heard of traveling free on any airline on standby

But I have traveled on commercial airlines where I talked with military people stationed in Korea, Japan, etc., who paid for their ticket.

There is a program called "Space available" that is offered to active duty members who want to chance using military transport, but it is not recommended unless one has plenty of time to work with.

Space avaialble, or "Space A", is just as it implies, that is, a seat (on military transport) is not guaranteed, one has to wait until a seat comes up, which can take days, even weeks. Soldiers in Iraq on 15-day leave want to get the hell out of there and back home as soon as possible, so they wouldn't have the luxury of waiting for Space A.

[AP]

4. How many billions in taxpayer money did airlines get after 9/11?

You think that they'd feel obligated to fly a few people home for free.

[Sick of Bullshit]

5. $15 billion, wasn't it?

Lots of free money from Uncle Sugar. Where DID it all go?

[AP]

9. That should be enough to justify a few free tickets.

No?

Why am I the only American supporting the troops. Shouldn't Delta feel compelled to support the troops after I supported them with my tax money?

[alphafemale]

2. Perhaps, Danziger should modify this somehow.

To show a first responder carrying the body of a soldier forced to hitch-hike along a highway.

Welcome home. ;(

[liberalmuse]

6. A lot of questions need to be answered...

Why was she walking home at 4 a.m. in the middle of the highway? Was she disoriented? It figures. The soldiers, used as fodder by the Bush administration are sent home on leave, I'm guessing as a P.R. move for the hurting Bush administration, and this happens to one of them. It's sad and disgusting.

[MaineDem]

7. How sad

I honestly filled up when I read this. So many lives lost because of this incompetent idiot in the White House.

My sympathies to her family.

[bigtree]

8. sad

We all need to call the buses and airlines and shame them into providing transport. Buses are usually the first to give.

[R Hickey]

12. I took a Greyhound and was dropped off 5 miles out of town

I took a Greyhound Bus about a month ago. The trip was from Madison, WI, to Eau Claire. I was rudely surprised when we arrived near Eau Claire, (pop 80,000) at close to midnight.

The Bus company had sold their in-town bus station a couple of years ago, and so I was dropped off in a deserted McDonald's parking lot, near the freeway exit, basically in the middle of nowhere, five miles outside town.

I walked about a quater mile to a Days-Inn and called a cab. In different weather, especially for a bus passinger without a lot of money, it would have been a life threatening situation.

[dobak]

10. whoa, slow down

All it says it that she was walking along the road.

It does not say she was forced to hitchhike home because the airlines are cheap.

For all we know, her car broke down or got a flat and she was walking back home, or to a nearby gas station.

I despise Bush and Friends as much as you, but I don't blame them for everything wrong in the world.


(edit: spelling)

[Cappurr]

13. Oh yeah I can blame them

That girl should have had flight tickets to the nearest airport to her home town and her family should have been able to pick her up. If they couldn't ground transportation should have been arranged for her. You have no conception of the mental state some of these GI's who have seen horrible things are in right now. They DONT need to be dumped in Baltimore.

And how are they supposed to pay for private transportation. Bush cut combat pay from 225/month to 150 and separation pay from 200 to 100. Can you imagine??? The nerve. Cutting soldiers pay while they are putting their lives on the line.

Dont tell me I can't blame Bush and his cabal because I can and I do.


ON EDIT: you were right. I jumped the gun. As a post lower down makes clear she WAS with family and friends. At a bar. So....as Gilda Radner said: "nevermind"

[are_we_united_yet]

20. I blame them for this! n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. Not a lot of info available yet but

She was heading home for her brother's wedding. She was among the first group in from Iraq, that was dropped off and left to fend for themselves in Baltimore.

She was walking along a highway and she was run over by an SUV.

Sounds like she was just doing whatever it took to get home in time for the wedding.

[Corgigal]

14. If 911 was alerted

as claimed by this article then they better have had someone dispatched out there. In some states walking along an interstate is a crime and a female by herself at 4 am should be responded to.

Maybe they were on the way but didn't get there in time. I hope her family looks into that. Still doesn't bring her back though.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Here's a longer story from the Kansas City Star

It was the lead story on all the Kansas City tv stations last night.

What a horrid, horrid shame. I'm sure everyone in the area felt so sick hearing about this during the day, yesterday.

Maybe this story will clear up some of the questions:

(snip) Posted on Sat, Sep. 27, 2003

Army reservist on leave from Iraq killed in accident

A U.S. Army reservist stationed in Iraq -- but back in the Kansas City area this weekend for her brother's wedding -- was killed Friday in a highway accident.

Overland Park police said Lisa M. Andrews, 24, was walking in the southbound lanes of U.S. 69 south of College Boulevard when she was hit by a driver traveling home from work shortly before 4 a.m.

An emergency response official said Andrews died at the scene.

"The driver didn't see her until she was in her windshield," said Sgt. Todd Chappell of Overland Park's Traffic Division. (snip/...)

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/6871679.htm

On edit:

I've been thinking how disoriented she must have felt, making the trip from the war zone to her home, arriving in the midst of wedding activities, spending the night celebrating, and suddenly finding herself standing on a huge highway in the dark near 4: a.m. My God, how utterly bewildering.

[MaineDem]

16. From the article

Police said Andrews had spent the night at a bar with family and friends. There was confusion about who was to take Andrews home, police said, and she was left behind.

A stranger tried to take Andrews home, but they got lost and Andrews got out of the stranger's car near 119th Street and Switzer Road, according to police. Eventually Andrews, wearing jeans and a black jacket, walked onto the multilane, divided highway.

=======

Still, a tragedy.

[Cappurr]

17. Oh...

Well as Gilda Radner said "nevermind".

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Still a sad story

And it doesn't change the fact that the troops that are coming back from Iraq are being dumped in Baltimore and having to figure out how the heck to get home from there. At least, she had gotten to spend a little bit of time with her family.

[SingSong]

19. What a hugely dumbass family

No one noticed she wasn't home and went to look for her? Had they gotten so used to not having her around that they actually FORGOT she had just returned from Iraq?