Lauren Cook Arrested

Husker Richard said:
Bowfin said:
tri, I probably wouldn't be too judgmental of someone that you don't know. Having gone to HS with her, she really isn't that kind of person. Good people make mistakes also.
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As Fonzi on Happy Days said to his nephew: "You didn't make a mistake! 2+2=3 is a mistake! What you did is wrong!"

Not judging the person, judging the actions, and they were wrong. No one is perfect and we can support the person without overlooking on the misdeed.

I am a little bent out of shape when Daddy said if she was a sorority girl, it wouldn't be a big deal. People being hurt is a BIG DEAL anytime and anyplace. Broken legs don't always mend 100%, and even if they do that's a chunk of time out of somebody's life when they can't do what they want to do or need to do. I'm thinking it would be a big deal to Daddy Cook if two of his players were on that motorcycle, or two of his family members.
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My lord, John Cook's sorority quote is being taken so far out of context it is ridiculous. He didn't mean to downplay the injuries or that sorority girls get away with murder, he meant that if his daughter had been a normal college girl in a sorority this story wouldn't have been headline news.

How so many people are grossly misinterpreting his quote is beyond me.
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John Cook met with some members of the Panhellenic Council (a governing body for the majority of UNL's sororities), and apologized. As a member of a sorority, I really wasn't offended, because I was able to deduce what he meant instead of what he said.

 
krill said:
tab-neb said:
They also mentioned that she can legally drive again, which is crazy if you ask me. She should lose her license for at least a year or two.
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You have got to be kidding me.
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What's so surprising about that? She hasn't been convicted of anything yet. People with DUI offenses don't lose their license pretrial either (it gets taken but they get a piece of paper that is a legal drivers license), if she completed the required course to get it reinstated with the DMV that's the way it works. You cant really punish people for things they aren't convicted of, that's the way the legal system is supposed to work.

She sounds like a few women I knew when younger. Totally aloof on the road and probably someone you hold onto the handles in the car white knuckled as a passenger.

Her voluntarily not driving says to me she has started to realize how serious this is and how perception is way out of whack for her as a high profile coach's little girl at a big program. It's an unfortunate position she's got her self in, but some of you are being a little ridiculous with possibly outcomes that could've resulted and just how harsh she should be punished. Removal from the team is silly, IMO, suspension for the season may be a bit harsh too. This is kinda the problem with public messageboard discussion trying to decide what is justice on these amateur athletes. She'll get appropriate punishment from the legal system. The university should treat them as a student first and if this was any other student we wouldn't know about it so she's already getting added punishment through community public embarrassment. I wouldn't underestimate that.

 
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redblooded said:
krill said:
tab-neb said:
They also mentioned that she can legally drive again, which is crazy if you ask me. She should lose her license for at least a year or two.
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You have got to be kidding me.
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What's so surprising about that? She hasn't been convicted of anything yet. People with DUI offenses don't lose their license pretrial either (it gets taken but they get a piece of paper that is a legal drivers license), if she completed the required course to get it reinstated with the DMV that's the way it works. You cant really punish people for things they aren't convicted of, that's the way the legal system is supposed to work.

She sounds like a few women I knew when younger. Totally aloof on the road and probably someone you hold onto the handles in the car white knuckled as a passenger.

Her voluntarily not driving says to me she has started to realize how serious this is and how perception is way out of whack for her as a high profile coach's little girl at a big program. It's an unfortunate position she's got her self in, but some of you are being a little ridiculous with possibly outcomes that could've resulted and just how harsh she should be punished. Removal from the team is silly, IMO, suspension for the season may be a bit harsh too. This is kinda the problem with public messageboard discussion trying to decide what is justice on these amateur athletes. She'll get appropriate punishment from the legal system. The university should treat them as a student first and if this was any other student we wouldn't know about it so she's already getting added punishment through community public embarrassment. I wouldn't underestimate that.
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I thought she already had a suspended license before the crash?

 
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After having ridden Motorcycles for several years, I almost ALWAYS assume I'm pretty much invisible while riding, and even in my now huge 4-dr automobile, with so many people texting or on their cell phones, I still don't always get seen.

I feel for all involved, but it's not like Lauren hit someone on purpose. And I'd bet she won't do this ever again.

I'm also very lucky I haven't got caught speeding for a couple of decades.

 
The LJS is reporting that Lauren has been accepted into pre-trial Diversion:

Nebraska volleyball player Lauren Cook has been accepted into pretrial diversion, according to a press release from the Lancaster County Attorney's Office.


Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly said Tuesday his office looked at the police incident report from the crash, which indicated she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs when her SUV hit the motorcycle. That she has a clean criminal record was also a key factor in recommending her case be dismissed to pretrial diversion, Kelly said.

If Cook fails to complete any of the requirements listed in her pretrial diversion agreement, the felony charge could be re-filed.

On Tuesday, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said Cook -- who sat out the Huskers' two matches last weekend -- could play again once she is admitted into the diversion program.
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LINK

Presumably that means she will start against Indiana this weekend, and continue playing.

 
http://www.unl.edu/a...k/traffic.shtml

Lancaster County has a pretrial diversion program available to first time offenders charged with certain types of crimes (NOT DUI). Under the Pretrial Diversion Program, the prosecutor dismisses your case if you

1) are accepted into the Pretrial Diversion Program and

2) admit to the pretrial screening officer that you believe there is a reasonable likelihood you would be convicted of the charge if the case went to trial.

In Lancaster County, you may be accepted into the program after an interview concerning your background and criminal record check. A fee is charged and participants are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of volunteer work. In addition, participants must not be convicted of any offense during the pretrial diversion period. If a participant does not comply with the terms of pretrial diversion, the charge can be refiled.

PRETRIAL DIVERSION

If you are charged with a misdemeanor in Lancaster County, you may be able to have your case dismissed through Pretrial Diversion if you:

■Have no prior criminal convictions

■Complete 24-40 hours of community service

■Complete course work such as alcohol education

■Refrain from violating the law for 6 months

In what crazy world does felony=misdemeanor? Or did I miss where the charge was reduced?

 
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Some felonies are also capable of being dismissed through pretrial diversion. Leaving the Scene is one of them, and according to an earlier LJS article quoting either an LPD cop or someone from the DA's office, Cook is not the first person accepted into pretrial for this kind of incident.

 
Good for her then. I hope she can come through this and 'learn her lesson'. I did just read where there are ~1000 Neb. people a year that go through this program.

 
More about this Diversion Program, and why she's eligible:

The prosecutor contacted the victims before offering Cook the opportunity to enter the diversion program, and he said they did not object.
About 1,000 offenders a year participate in pretrial diversion in Lancaster County, and some have committed felonies such as motor vehicle homicide, burglary and theft, said Shawn Stanczyk, program coordinator for Diversion Services.

“We’ve had similar cases,” he said. “I don’t think it’s that common of an incident, thankfully, but we’ve had it before.”

Officials must follow set criteria for deciding whether a person is eligible for pretrial diversion. A criminal record can automatically disqualify someone.

Some offenses, such as murder and sexual assault, are excluded from the diversion program, but others, such as leaving the scene of an injury accident, are decided case by case. Cook met the eligibility requirements, Kelly said.

Most people who flee from an accident do so because they are drunk, the prosecutor said. It’s somewhat unusual for offenders who flee to have been sober and then turn themselves in.
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LINK

 
I'm sorry, but there should be no diversion for felony charges. I have a hard time agreeing with this scenerio. I am alittle bias because I had a friend get killed by a driver that hit him while he was walking on the side of the road. The driver was allowed to take diversion and was done with it. It is an injustice to the victims when something like this happens.

ns

 
As many prior second chances she had were abused,it may only be a matter of time before something else happens.Hopefully not,especially for the potential innocent victims.

 
Stumpy1 said:
I'm sorry, but there should be no diversion for felony charges. I have a hard time agreeing with this scenerio. I am alittle bias because I had a friend get killed by a driver that hit him while he was walking on the side of the road. The driver was allowed to take diversion and was done with it. It is an injustice to the victims when something like this happens.
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First, I'm very sorry for what happened to your friend. It's a tragedy and nothing mitigates that.

However, if you've ever changed the channel on your radio, if you've ever looked in the back seat, if you've ever dug in your glove box or if you've ever looked at a phone, map, friend in the passenger seat while driving, that's enough to kill someone. It can happen to anyone.

The ridiculous thing about driving is that it's the single most dangerous thing most people will do every day, and they never stop and think about how dangerous it really is. You are piloting, often without the requisite skill, a 1.5 ton missile at speeds in excess of 30 mph. The consequences of a moment's distraction are devastating, yet we're often looking at the trees, or a bird, or the girl in the next car, or the sunset, or whatever.

 
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