Rancher Jailed

[kjones]

I just read this in my local paper. It's from the Associated Press.

Logan, Utah. A rancher blamed for a loose cow that caused a fatal car wreck was sent to jail for 30 days during an emotional hearing.

Kimberly Johnson's relatives pleaded with 1st District Judge Gordon Low to order the maximum one-year jail sentence for Darrell Kunzler, 71.

"Unless you've lost a child you cannot imagine how it feels," her father , Milburn Tucker, said. " One year in jail is a very short time compared to a lifetime without her because of his actions."

Johnson, 40, of Auburn, died in November 2004 when her Subaru Legacy crashed into a Black Angus cow on State Road 30. Two children, 14 and 10, survived.

 

[VanC]

A terrible tragedy for all involved. I would need to know more about the circumstances before I could give an opinion on whether the sentence was appropriate or not. News stories seldom give the full story.

 

[cattleluvr18]

A terrible tragedy for all involved. I would need to know more about the circumstances before I could give an opinion on whether the sentence was appropriate or not. News stories seldom give the full story.

yeah

 

[Beefy]

where is paul harvey when you need him?

 

[Wewild]

where is paul harvey when you need him?

excellent post.

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Isn't Utah a free range state?

 

[IL Rancher]

I was talking to a neighbor about this and he retold a story of about 20 or so years ago when they hit a cow that was on the road... Luckily the only one hurt was the cow and the car (Hit so hard it twited the fram enough to let cow manure cover the inside of the car when her rear swung around.... They thought it was blood at first but it as just liquid manure. Said he never even saw it until it was too late, pure black cow, told me I was lucky I had reds and white faces but I had to poiunt out I was still mostly black here as far as cows..

I always worry about the cows getting out and someone hitting them.. have had one or two break out in the middle of the night.. Was very hard rounding them up in the dark.. I would need to hear more too about the story.. Were cows getting out all the time, was it negligance or was it just an ocassional thing.. Heck, was he driving them down the road when it happened? I would imagine it would have to have been something pretty negligant to get the DA to take it to trial.

 

[Beefy]

Mamma hit one of the neighbor's (several miles down the road) black cows at night when she was pregnant with me.

 

[Nowland Farms]

...Mamma hit one of the neighbor's ...when she was pregnant with me....

OK Beefy, now we understand what happened to you. We all were wondering what had happened. Now we know. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Beefy]

and now you know.... the rest of the story!

 

[Victoria]

and now you know.... the rest of the story!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[john250]

I hope you'll post when more details come out on this case.
Ranchers going to jail kind of gets my attention.

 

[Pegram]

I live close to Logan UT, and from what i heard this was not the first time his cows have been hit on the road. He got 30 day jail time, and 200 hours community service. Plus he is now incharge of making sure all other fences in the county are able to hold cattle off the roads. He was incharge of the open range up one major canyon, and i was told he was pretty good at keeping the cattle off the road. I feel bad for him, its not like he meant to do it.

 

[Pegram]

here a link about the case: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1047263

 

[aplusmnt]

I feel bad for him, its not like he meant to do it.

At first thought I would also feel sorry for him. Kind of like one day I hit a dog on the highway and on way home was thinking how bad I felt that I had just killed some kids dog. But once I looked hard at the damage and cost to fix my pickup I was mad at the people that let their dog roam the highway.

If my wife had been killed by a cow that got out and the person had a history of his cows always being out, I would go inspect his fences personally and if I made the judgement call that he was not being a responsible cattleman with appropriate fences then he would have a lot more to worry about than 30 days in local jail.

Cows will always get out but we should make sure we have did our best, so we can have a clear conscience and avoid the threat of liability if a true accident does happen.

 

[GMN]

Did this happen at night?

I know there is a rule where landowners are held responsible for damage to peoples' cars if they hit an animal, but it is a dilemma when someone is killed or injured, because animals do sometimes as animals want, whether there is good fence or not. i am sure this elderly man feels terrible for what happened, and sometimes I think guilt is punishment enough for some people.
GMN

 

[Pegram]

I agree that guilt is enough, he did tell the family he was sorry for what happened. I don't think a year in jail would have solved much. The rancher does live on a busy highway, and I feel its very important to keep his fences in the best condition possible.