Always Wear Your Seat Belt...

...especially if you think your driver's about to go car-mageddon on somebody (hat tip - ObscureStore):

"Two drivers who fought a deadly mile-long road-rage battle last spring that killed a passenger in one of the cars have been charged in the man's death.

Both drivers, including the girlfriend of the victim, should be held accountable, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said Wednesday while announcing charges against the drivers in a Brooklyn Park crash that killed 25-year-old Marvin Lindsey. She stood just feet from the median of U.S. 169 where a small memorial stands for Lindsey.

"These two were basically engaged in mutual car-to-car combat along the highway that ended in the death of Mr. Lindsey," Klobuchar said of the April 27 crash.

Mark Raymond Bair, 29, and Beth Ann Rademacher, 25, were each charged with felony criminal vehicular homicide in the death of Lindsey, a passenger in Rademacher's car.

...

It took several months for state troopers to reconstruct the accident scene and to gather evidence from many witnesses, who gave the following account of the road battle:

Witnesses said they saw a Chevrolet Lumina run a red light at 117th Avenue and abruptly turn into the southbound left lane of U.S. 169, causing several cars to brake suddenly. An Oldsmobile Cutlass was one of the cars driving south on 169.

Bair drove the Oldsmobile and Rademacher drove the Chevrolet.

When the two cars soon stopped next to each other at a red light at 114th Avenue, Bair got out of his car and began yelling at Rademacher, who in turn got out of her car and yelled back, according to the charges filed in Hennepin County District Court.

A witness said she saw someone from the Chevrolet throw a pair of scissors toward the Oldsmobile. And at one point, witnesses said, Bair yelled a racial epithet at Rademacher and Lindsey, an African-American.

At the next light, Bair again got out of his car and threw a screwdriver at the Chevrolet, the charges allege.

For the next mile or so, the two cars swerved at each other, Klobuchar said.

Eventually Rademacher lost control of her car, swerving onto the left shoulder and rolling several times into the median, where Lindsey was thrown from the car. He died shortly after the crash."

When I'm king, an incident like this will be good for twenty or thirty felony counts of Dangerous Stupidity. But we're not done yet. Ravingbarker's sister is upset that Ravingbarker was also charged:

"'I think it's very unfair. I don't think they looked at everything they should have,' Paulson said. 'My son was in the car. He said words were exchanged, but that they were just driving along and the guy kept swerving at them.'"

Here's the deal, lady: your nutbag sister got her boyfriend killed because she

• A. Ran a red light,


• B. Reacted badly to initial criticism of same,


• C. Threw (or had someone in her car throw) a pair of scissors at the other guy,


• D. Reacted badly to subsequent criticism of same,


• E. Engaged in a rollicking game of swerve-chicken...


• F. ...which she lost. Finally,


• G. She couldn't get her boyfriend to buckle up.

Oh, yeah, she's pregnant, too. Now there are some genes that I want propogated.