| Author | Message | ||
     Koz5150 |
Cyclist hurt by plastic wrap was driver in 1998 fatality By JACQUELINE SEIBEL jseibel@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Aug. 16, 2004 Waukesha - As four teenagers face delinquency proceedings and a probable lawsuit on charges they stretched plastic wrap across a road and injured motorcyclist Daniel Buckel, a Milwaukee family wants Buckel to remember when he was 16 and his failure to yield resulted in the death of their father - also a motorcyclist. Six years ago, Buckel was driving a 1989 Chevrolet Camaro west on Good Hope Road when he turned to enter the ramp for Highway 45 in front of an eastbound motorcyclist. Robert Wagoner, 50, of Milwaukee collided with the side of Buckel's car, according to the accident report. Wagoner, riding his 1986 Harley-Davidson, was thrown from the bike over Buckel's vehicle. He died that day at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa. According to the 1998 Milwaukee Police Department accident report filed, Buckel failed to yield the right of way to Robert Wagoner. Buckel was not injured. He suffered no legal or civil consequences and was not ticketed for the Aug. 18, 1998, accident, decisions made by the Milwaukee County district attorney and the family of Robert Wagoner. "We did what we thought was the right thing to do," said Amy Simchak, Wagoner's daughter and family spokeswoman. The family has no regrets about not pursuing punishment for Buckel, she said. For a year after the accident, Buckel's parents begged the Wagoner family not to take their house away in a civil lawsuit, Simchak said. The family decided not to sue the 16-year-old and his family, believing that the cause of the accident could be blamed, in part, on Buckel's inexperience as a driver, Simchak said. Wagoner's survivors also thought that living with the responsibility of another person's death for the rest his life would be more punishment for Buckel than any loss of license, jail time or civil lawsuit could produce, she said. Comments strike a nerve But Buckel's comments following the plastic wrap incident, coupled with an extensive record of driving infractions since the 1998 crash, makes the family wonder whether Buckel learned anything from their father's death. Buckel, now 22, wants a different result for the four teens than the one he received, she said. The teens, three of whom are 16 and one 14, are accused of stretching a kitchen-variety plastic wrap across Guthrie Road in the Town of Waukesha on July 13. After the teens turned themselves in, Buckel vowed recompense from the boys and their families. "They're going to see that it's going to cost these kids severely. That's what happens for not thinking before you do act," he said, calling the incident "one of the scariest things that ever happened to me." On Monday, Buckel said he expected to have his costs covered but didn't want to cause undue hardship on the teens' families. "I have medical bills they have to pay," Buckel said Monday about the teens. But Buckel also said that he doesn't believe in "burying a family for something their kid did." Buckel and his passenger, Theresa Brzykcy, 19, of Brookfield, were injured, but not seriously. "He's got a scar on his eyebrow, but we'll never have our father back," Simchak said. Buckel has retained local attorney Michael Hupy to represent him in the civil action. Hupy also was the attorney for the Wagoner family when they chose to sue the City of Milwaukee, unsuccessfully, alleging a failure to cut the vegetation in the median near the scene of their father's death. Division of Motor Vehicles records confirm that Buckel has had a long record of driving violations since the 1998 fatality. Buckel has been ticketed for speeding seven times, had his license suspended five times and was ticketed for operating after suspension three times, records show. In the same time period he's also been ticketed for eluding an officer, for not carrying his driver's license, operating without a license, having a defective speedometer, having an improper muffler and failure to wear a seat belt. His license was valid as of April 7, records show. Simchak said the Wagoners do not dispute that the plastic wrap prank could have produced a tragic result and that those responsible should face punishment. But they want Buckel to think of what his family went through following the death of their father as he pursues legal action against the families of the teens involved in the prank. "Those families are being put in a situation that we never wanted him to be put in," Simchak said. Buckel said he doesn't want to remember the accident in which Robert Wagoner was killed, but he still does. "It's something that really sucks, and I don't want to think about it," Buckel said. "It was the worst time of my life." As for the Wagoners, they still live with the pain of losing Robert Wagoner. They spend every Aug. 18 together. This year, they will have lunch together and visit his grave. | ||
| Midknyte |
Karma... | ||
| Kevyn |
I wonder if his girlfriend/passenger knew about his driving record when she climbed aboard? I think she just missed a Darwin Award. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I looked up his court records herehttp://wcca.wicourts.gov/pager.do;jsessionid=B5DEBBF229381313E8991DF4B77DF66E.re nder3?cacheId=32A990FD63BA9145114E18B9243D6FC7&offset=0&sortColumn=0&sortDirecti on=DESC The last ticket (7/22/2003) was for 35-39 over the 55 mph limit. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
So the guy is not exactly a model citizen? Still doesnt make it right. Could just as easily have been you or me that this happened to. Did the guy deserve what happened to him? Perhaps. But next time it could easily result in a death of one of your loved ones. Its obvious because he was never "punished" for his accident that resulted in the death of a man that he never learned a lesson. Maybe if these kids who did this actually are penalized someway they will learn? | ||
| Koz5150 |
Dyna, I agree it's not right. It was just a little suprising to read about his history. | ||
| Spike |
Dyna's right (again!?) The guy's poor driving record doesn't justify this incident. The death of Wagoner makes this case more interesting, but it certainly doesn't change what the kids did. | ||
| Glitch |
Think I'll ride clear of Waukesha. | ||
| Buelluk |
How does he even have a valid license or insurance with all these offenses | ||
| Koz5150 |
Buckel has been ticketed for speeding seven times, had his license suspended five times and was ticketed for operating after suspension three times, records show. Does that answer your question??? | ||
| Darthane |
One of millions of examples of people that simply should not own or operate ANY kind of motor vehicle. Obviously having his license yanked wouldn't have mattered a whit to him. Unfortunately, there is simply no reasonable way to ensure that someone without a valid license DOESN'T drive. What are you gonna do, impound the cars of anyone that might lend it to them? I do think that if you lend your car to someone without a valid license or insurance and they get into ANY kind of traffic violation, your car should get impounded. Make it so that it's not worth the possible trouble to let an unlicensed driver behind your wheel. | ||
| Loki |
There are definately two sides to this one. On one you have a 16 year old being unattentive and causing an unfortunate accident. Followed by some very fun (read as stupid) years. On the other you have several youths doing something premeditated AND not thinking about all of the possible outcomes. Chances are he does not have any insurance coverage with that record. Could not even think of affording it. Some of it has been washed off the records anyway. If he is only asking for medical bills to be covered, that is one thing. Going after the families personally beyond that is unconsientable. Then again if he had no insurance coverage....He rolled the dice and lost. The passenger on the other hand is a different story. Wisconsin is one of the states that does not require proof of insurance to get tags for a vehicle. | ||
| Mikej |
I'm not sure of the legal time limits on this, but if the Wagoner's wanted to could they still pursue criminal or civil litigation against Buckel? This should not imply I'm minimizing the saran wrap incident. | ||
| Softailbuell |
I would agree with you Loki. If he's seeking recompense for medical bills and vehicle repair, to me that is entirely fair and ethical. He's entitled to that much regardless of his past record. It was the premeditated action of others that caused him to encur those expenses, ergo they should pay them. And yes, the passenger is an entirely different matter. She could simply "own" those families for the kid's actions. The fact that the Wagoners tried to sue the city for improperly clearing the median leads me to believe that there might have been some environmental issues related to the crash that killed their father. I know that here in Va, if the grass in the median isn't cut, it can get tall enough to hide a small sportscar fairly effectively. However, I don't see how the fact they decided not to press charges or civil compensation is related to this with the situation as is. If Buckel was suing the families for everything they have, then yes, I would agree. | ||
| Moboy516 |
IMO, this guy Buckel seems to make motorcyclists look bad. However, I can't see that what happened in the past as an accident (giving him benefit of doubt) or his past record has much to do with what 4 little shits did. I would probably go after those kids and want compensation if it happened to me. What these kids did was premeditated and downright evil. Even though kids aren't adults, they know that if they get caught, there will be consequence. They just didn't expect to get caught. They get whatever punishment they get if you ask me. (Message edited by moboy516 on August 17, 2004) | ||
| Outrider |
IMO, this guy Buckel seems to make motorcyclists look bad. Heck, I think he makes everyone look bad, especially those in his age group. You know, the folks the insurance companies like to penalize most. Won't even bother to comment about his encounter with the riders death other than to say the road conditions, traffic and visibility where the incident occurred are pretty shabby. Milwaukee never was known for either proper planning or maintenance of it's roads. Still responsibility for that incident would be contingent on the factors present at the time it occurred. Concerning the plastic wrap incident, that was downright stupid malicious behavior. Would have been a cute prank if a car or truck went through it. Probably would have resulted in minor damage to the vehicle and some soiled underwear. However, on a motorcycle, it could have been a lot worse. Of interest, in that same area three years ago, some joker(s) neatly stacked a shot spare tire and a jack in the middle of the road as you come out of a sweeper at night. Well, I was the one that hit it head on with my Miata at 11:00 PM on a Saturday night. Two cars that were following me also hit it. The cop was great with the report and our insurance companies fixed the damage, but if I had been on a bike, I would have been history. Must be something in the water in that area that causes delinquency, eh? | ||
| Newfie_buell |
I have to agree with Bill on the age thing. Now before I am bombarded with replies not all in that age are like that. I have a friend who is 22 and consider him to be one of the most responsible drivers out there. But usually when on the highway, city streets, etc, etc the ones who are usually driving more aggressively are the "single male under 25 operators" As for the plastic wrap - it was a very stupid prank that caused some injury to another. If it had been a car, truck, etc not much damage would have occurred. The other thing is it that difficult to see that crap at night?????Not that I want to find out any time soon. The kids that did it sould be reprimanded and if the guy on the bike was hurt then he should be PROPERLY compensated (ie. medical bills, lost wages) none of this pain and suffering crap. The guys driving record may not have any bearing on why he was injured after hitting the wrap - unless he was travelling way too fast or comitting other moving violations - even then it may be a contributing factor. Bill, As for hitting your head maybe you should either wear your helmet while driving that car (Miata) or duck down a little while driving.  Maybe try a SAAB Convertible they are bigger and offer more windshield protection - I fit well under the line of the windshield and from what I recall you were about my height.  | ||
| Raraf |
Prank? I differ to beg. I find it malicious and attempting to kill or hurt someone. A prank would be like the time I switched my Grandma's heart meds with extasy and watching her dry hump the coffee table to Nine Inch Nails. Those were the good ol' days! Last bit was a joke folks. | ||
| Midknyte |
having painful visions imagining the cofee table turned upside down  | ||
| Lake_bueller |
I think the key word was dry | ||
| Darthane |
The part about it being the good old days? | ||
| Outrider |
Newfie...Thanks for the "Head On" mental pic. When both are sober, I believe we are the same height. However, I shrink per drink pretty rapidly. LOL Incidentally, I find the vast majority of young drivers to be quite responsible and that they are paying for the indiscretions of the minority. Think that holds true throughout history. Raraf...I called the wrap incident a prank as when you are that age and get all wound up with your buds, you don't think things all the way through. You just do it for grins. Granted it was malicious, as regardless what hit it there would be some damage, but I feel they were more concerned with causing someone to soil their shorts than wrecking a car or flippin' a biker. Ergo, a prank gone wrong. |
