Driver in Fatal Motorcycle Cop Crash Appears in Court

 

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The woman who was driving the vehicle that collided with a San Angelo Police officer in 2015 causing his death made a court hearing Thursday.  

48-year-old Cynthia Quigley sat quietly in the back of the courtroom while her attorney filed a detailed motion concerning discovery of evidence in district court.  Judge Jay Weatherby led defense attorney Randol Stout and District Attorney John Best through the motion which governs how and what the District Attorney will provide to the defense.  

On June 25, 2015, motorcycle police patrolmen were escorting a parade of racing boats headed northeast on Knickerbocker Road. During the parade, a female driver, Cynthia Quigley, was waiting in her Nissan Rogue in a private drive on the south side of Knickerbocker Road to turn left, between Parkview and Johnson Street.

As she waited for the parade to pass her, Larry Netherland, who was driving a truck towing a boat and trailer on behalf of Marty Logan and his various companies, motioned to Quigley to make a left turn. As Quigley entered Knickerbocker Road, and began to turn left, she pulled into the pathway of Sgt. Korby Kennedy who was on a police motorcycle racing ahead, next to the line of speedboats, to the next intersection. The two collided and Kennedy ultimately died from his injuries.

Judge Weatherby will set a final pretrial before the jury trial.  The jury trial is currently set for Sept. 17.

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"As Quigley entered Knickerbocker Road, and began to turn left, she pulled into the pathway of Sgt. Korby Kennedy who was on a police motorcycle racing ahead, next to the line of speedboats, to the next intersection."

this was after she'd been waved on by the driver, which was a mistake on his part obviously, and if i was her, i wouldn't have gone regardless of being waved on if i couldn't see the other lane.
but so many little things aren't stated about the events that day its confusing...

how fast was the deceased officer "racing" ?
were his lights and sirens on?
was he the first officer in the line of the parade?
if he was, why did the parade depart without him in the lead to begin with?
if he wasn't, did the other officers who had already passed that point have their lights and sirens on?

and the driver who waved her on...
was he actually the lead vehicle of this parade?
or was he somewhere in the middle? the end?
has he ever given a statement as to why he stopped to let her pass?

its a tragedy a good guy got killed but without all the info it seems like it was just that, a tragic accident on multiple levels and not something she ought to be going to prison for.

Why is this a criminal case especially when extenuating circumstances led this driver to make the decision to pull out in front of the cop who was simply doing his job?

Mistake, yes. Criminal? Very arguable.

The original reports were Quigley was driving while on her cell phone, in addition to not thinking clearly about pulling into a convoy with police escort. Hmmm...how stupid can a driver be? Driving is a privilege, not a right. Why would a clear-thinking driver ever want to pull into a convoy? Who cares if the other driver waved her in! She couldn’t see! Mistakes happen because we don’t think about consequences. Did she premeditate killing the officer? I seriously doubt it. The life of a dedicated police officer, husband & father was snuffed out because of this lady’s total lack of judgment while driving a motor vehicle. Is it criminal? Is manslaughter criminal? Yes to both! She “accidentally” took someone’s life & there are consequences for our actions. This lady is far from a shining example of a wonderful citizen, thus her flawed actions should not go unpunished. This is way more than an oopsie or spilled milk. Every time we get behind the wheel of our 4,000 lb sleds, we need to be accountable for our actions, to include criminal penalties if we kill someone. She should serve as the icon of what not to do while in command of an automobile!

Any driver entering a roadway is responsible assuring the roadway is clear of oncoming traffic, without regard to any traffic hand signalling, signing or any other type of direction given by any other driver. She is guilty of failing to yield the right-of-way, which resulted in the death of an officer. The officer may have some responsibility for assuming he would be seen, as most bike crashes share.
Tragic consequences for what was essentially a traffic infraction. Nothing criminal in my estimation.

Korby Kennedy was a Godly man who loved people. He was a man of grace and love and Christlike. He would not want this woman jailed or her life ruined. He understood people made split second decisions that caused grief in lives young and old. I know all of the people involved. This woman is good. She did not mean any harm. She had no evil motive. She was simply human just like you and me. But for the grace of God there go I. Lets reach out, lets embrace her and forgive her so she might forgive herself. Korby was known for turning lives around. He wouldn't see this life any less valuable.

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