Man Gets $1,000 Speeding Ticket Trying To Save His Baby

[calgarydub]

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Man Gets $1,000 Speeding Ticket Trying To Save His Baby

A man in Manitoba, Canada has been given a whopping $1,000 ticket and a suspended driver's license as punishment for speeding to the hospital in order to save the life of his pregnant wife and his unborn child, reported the Winnipeg Free Press.

David Weber and his wife Genevieve one day last March were on their way home from a day of shopping when she began to have contractions. Genevieve was 38 weeks pregnant and the couple knew, because of complications she incurred while giving birth to their first child, they had very little time to get her to the hospital for a Caesarean section.

In what is described as an adrenaline-filled panic, Mr. Weber mashed the gas pedal of his Honda Civic, and began speeding towards the hospital on "lightly trafficked roads," the newspaper reported, at more than 105 MPH.

Unfortunately, the couple flew right by a police officer.

The couple's first reaction was that of relief, thinking the officer would hear their situation and offer them an escort to the hospital. Forget it.

"[The officer] said, 'If you go to [the hospital], I don't want to see you guys speeding,'" David told the Winnipeg Free Press. "I was half-crying... I said, 'We don't have time for a lecture.' (I was) trying to save my wife and baby's life."

After a 15-minute delay, the Weber's were back on the road, but with a baby-gift of a $1,000 speeding ticket, and time running out.

Mr. Weber knew the delay had made it even more imperative that they get to the hospital, so he again mashed the gas pedal. But 30 minutes later, incredibly, the couple was stopped by another police officer who had actually been alerted by the first that the Webers might be speeding again in the direction of the hospital.

The second officer also ignored the situation, started another lecture on speeding, and called an ambulance instead of allowing Mr. Weber to continue to the hospital, or escorting him there. Genevieve suffered through yet another 15 minute delay in pain and agony as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Fortunately, the Weber's baby was born healthy at the hospital, but it was a dangerously close call. According to the couple's doctor, Genevieve's uterus was very nearly ruptured.

Mr. Weber decided to fight the ticket with the support of the doctor that delivered the couple's baby. But in spite of the doctor's testimony that speeding was absolutely necessary to save Mrs. Weber and her baby, the police refused to drop the ticket. They did, however, reduce the fine to $400.

And take a suspended license too!

Last month, Mr. Weber attended a hearing about the speeding incident, and in early July received even more appalling news: His license would be suspended for five months.

Only upon the completion of a safe-driving course will Mr. Weber be able to legally drive again. Even after his 5-month suspension is up, he'll also likely incur a heavy financial burden from higher auto insurance premiums.

Police officials would not comment to the Free Press on the situation due to privacy concerns, but maintained that protocols designed for keeping the roads safe were followed in this instance.

David Weber still is holding on to hope that the authorities will grant him some slack due to the obviously special circumstances surrounding his traffic violation. David told the Free Press that he has taken his situation to the media in the hopes of garnering public support.

For the time being, David Weber is left wondering what might have happened had he been delayed even longer. Perhaps a Canadian solicitor will show interest in the case and charge the police with endangering the lives of Mrs. Weber and her baby?

But the larger question is why the police were such sticklers for official procedure in the face of a medical emergency. Certainly, there are many officers who would react differently in the face of the same circumstances.

[D'z Nutz]

In what is described as an adrenaline-filled panic, Mr. Weber mashed the gas pedal of his Honda Civic, and began speeding towards the hospital on "lightly trafficked roads," the newspaper reported, at more than 105 MPH.

105MPH ~= 170KM/H. Something doesn't quite add up... :confused:

Haha joking aside, glad to hear the baby and mother's okay. That's pretty fucked up.

[gretz]

Is there no protocol for pedestrian emergencies?

A police escort would have been nice as opposed to a lecture and a ticket... Maybe the first officer should have called the ambulance (instead of letting another officer know that a speeding couple in an emergency is coming and to pull them over too... WTF is that?)

[schocker]

That isn't the full story though. There was a closer hospital but they were going to their preferred hospital. IMO this was very dangerous and reckless.



With his wife paralyzed by the pain of contractions that jeopardized her pregnancy, David Weber hit the gas pedal to save his unborn baby's life.

Now, the 32-year-old father is sitting in his farmhouse in rural Manitoba, frustrated by a system that has left him caring for a young family with a whopping speeding ticket and a suspended licence.

Weber plans to appeal the licence suspension at a hearing with Manitoba Public Insurance next week -- but first, he hopes to be publicly heard.

On March 21, Weber and his wife Genevieve, 29, were on their way back to their spacious hobby farm outside Portage la Prairie, after a day spent shopping in Winnipeg. Genevieve was 38 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child; due to a complication while giving birth to daughter Madison, now 3, doctors warned that natural labour could put future babies at risk.

So when contractions struck and blood started to flow inside their vehicle on Highway 1 near Oakville, the Webers panicked.

Their hope: make it to Brandon General Hospital, where Genevieve's doctors and medical records were waiting. She was scheduled to have a Caesarean section there only five days later, still a week before her due date; but at that moment, with Genevieve's contractions already coming fewer than five minutes apart, fear set in.

Although he doesn't usually speed, he said, David hit the gas on the couple's silver Honda Civic, surging as fast as 170 kilometres an hour on clear and lightly trafficked roads. When the couple saw an RCMP cruiser's lights flash just outside Portage la Prairie, they were "really relieved," Genevieve said. "We were thinking, 'Now we'll get escorted!' "

Indeed, the officer encouraged them to go to Portage General Hospital to seek surgery or call an ambulance to take them to Brandon. But worried about transfer time, and the fact that they had been advised that Portage General Hospital does not normally perform routine C-sections, the stressed couple begged to push forward to Brandon.

Instead of an escort, they came away from the 15-minute traffic stop with a $1,000 speeding ticket -- and a warning. "He said, 'If you go to Brandon, I don't want to see you guys speeding,'" David said. "I was half-crying... I said, 'We don't have time for a lecture.' (I was) trying to save my wife and baby's life."

Back on the road, with Genevieve in increasing pain, Weber hit the gas again. Thirty minutes later, he was stopped by a Carberry RCMP officer who had been alerted that the Webers may be speeding towards Brandon. The Carberry officer issued David another speeding ticket, warned him again of the dangers of speeding and called an ambulance.

The Webers estimate they waited about 15 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.

"I couldn't believe this was happening," Genevieve recalled. "I want my baby to be safe, and they're not taking me seriously. They're not protecting us. There's no common sense left, or something."
The good news -- the Webers' baby, Anabela, was born healthy in Brandon after an emergency C-section.

Soon after the incident, Weber -- who does not have a history of dangerous driving, he said -- went before a justice of the peace to ask for compassion, showing a letter from their doctor that, by the time Genevieve made it into the operating room, her uterus was "very close to rupture" and Anabela was in distress.

"She knew she had to come to the hospital as soon as possible due to concerns... with dire consequences for the baby as well as possibly mother," Dr. J.B. Helms stated. "In light of these circumstances, I think (Genevieve) and her husband did the right thing... It was thus unavoidable for them to drive faster than normal."

Despite the doctor's support, the justice of the peace declined to drop Weber's ticket or replace it with a reprimand -- though he did lower the price of the ticket to $400.

The Webers might have let the story end there, but for what happened next: in June, David Weber was called before an MPI hearing officer to explain the speeding. On July 8, the hearing officer's verdict came down: as a result of the ticket, Weber's licence will be suspended for five months.
To get it back he'll have to take a safe-driving course and could pay as much as $1,000 to renew his licence for years to come.

For a working father in rural Manitoba, with a newborn baby and a three-year-old at home, it's a nerve-wracking loss. Even applying for a special permit to get to work at his sales job in Portage la Prairie could take months, he said.

Though officials from MPI and RCMP would not comment on the specifics of Weber's case, citing privacy concerns, both noted that protocols are designed to keep Manitoba's roads safe -- while allowing for occasional crises. Reports indicate that many of those procedures were followed in the Webers' case.

"In any case of medical emergency, we would request an ambulance so they could get emergency medical assistance or escort them to hospital. Both would be offered," said RCMP spokesman Const. Miles Hiebert. "We would take them to the nearest hospital."

MPI spokesman Brian Smiley explained that a ticket for speeding at least 50 km/h above the posted limit is grounds for an automatic hearing on licence suspension. While medical emergencies would certainly be considered in the decision, Smiley said, an overarching factor is whether the ticket was upheld by a magistrate -- as Weber's was.

"In a situation where the person provides the medical information, or the ticket can be overturned at court level, it does give a little more flexibility for the hearing officer," Smiley said.

On hearing about the case, Len Eastoe, a former police officer who runs Traffic Ticket Experts, said the situation might have been better handled by RCMP officers driving Genevieve to hospital in their cruisers. "An emergency situation arrives, and you don't wait for the ambulance," Eastoe said. "You're driving an emergency vehicle... you get them to hospital."

Barring that, the exceptional circumstances around Weber's speeding ticket could well have merited more leniency from a justice of the peace, Eastoe said -- either dropping the ticket or a reprimand, which does not result in licence demerits.

"In a circumstance like this, (a discharge or reprimand) is certainly something the justice of the peace should be considering," Eastoe said. "Especially in a life-or-death situation. How do you not allow for something like that?"

Back home outside Portage la Prairie, Weber now hopes that one of the authorities involved in his case will consider giving him a little leeway, and help him get his licence back.

Going to the media was a last resort, he said -- and a chance to warn others that even in the stress of a medical emergency, repercussions for speeding can be serious.

"What would have happened if something happened to my wife, or my baby?" Weber said. "Who would have been responsible then? It's like there's no compassion anymore."

[Sasuke_Kensai]

"maintained that protocols designed for keeping the roads safe were followed in this instance."

How is letting the father continue to drive, now in a more desperate panic and with additional distress from a huge ticket, keeping the roads safe...? Fuck I hate PR.

Every officer will do something different, first officer was a dick and made the situation worse in possibly every way. I feel the second officer's actions are the best next to having driven them to the hospital himself with sirens blazing. Though waiting for an ambulance wasn't great for the mother... but what's done is done, at least they're alive and healthy.

Huge contrast to the story earlier this week with the CPS/HAWCS/Sylvan Lake incident.

[Xamim]

I wouldn't even pull over. Call 911 and tell them you are driving to the hospital and ask if the officer in pursuit can escort you there.

[dansmith11]

Originally posted by Xamim
I wouldn't even pull over. Call 911 and tell them you are driving to the hospital and ask if the officer in pursuit can escort you there.

then the article would be about this new father who got tasered outside the hospital trying to unload his pregnant wife from the car lol

[J-D]

I think at the very least you take the guys keys, leave him on the side of the road and drive his wife to the hospital.

[Nakadah]

So the police suspended their license and let them drive? Am I getting this wrong?

If a police officer suspends your license shouldn't they call a tow truck to tow the car since you are not able to operate it anymore?

I am not even going to comment the police officers because there is nothing good that I can say about the whole thing as overall.

[Xamim]

Originally posted by dansmith11


then the article would be about this new father who got tasered outside the hospital trying to unload his pregnant wife from the car lol

Similar thing happened to Ryan Moats a few years back. He didn't stop until he got to the hospital parking lot.

77Q49VztpLI

[dexlargo]

That first article is written in an incredibly biased way. This was a stupid decision, so he pays the penalty.

I'd be more sympathetic if they were driving for 5 minutes to the closest hospital, but instead they chose to drive 130 km to Brandon instead.

They should have called an ambulance instead of endangering everyone else on the road.

[LollerBrader]

Fucking cops.

[GorG]

^I completely agree dexlargo, not only that, but he was endangering the life of his wife and unborn child. He most likely was not thinking clearly about the situation when it happened in the sense that not all his attention would be on the road, a portion would be focused on his wife making him drive more erratically and thus giving cause to a higher chance of an accident. Plus 170 is a useless speed it would only help him out if there was no one in his way the entire way there. An ambulance was the way to go. if worst came to worst he could head towards the ambulance and meet in the middle if he was so far away.

[PremiumRSX]

Despite the extreme pain and fear for his wife/child. I think it isn't a free pass to speed that much for a long stretch of road.

Slap him with a ticket, fine, but I think the first officer should've called in an ambulance for them instead of wasting time with lecture. Plus he can write the tickets while they wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Poor call letting the guy go knowing he'd likely speed the rest of the way to the hospital.

[se7en]

now that is a guy who needs a 8500 passport. No need to worry about the police anymore.

[Xtrema]

Cops should escort to gain better PR.

Dad is fucking retarded and could easily orphan their older son.

I have never lived in rural area but if you're 38 weeks in and know there are complications, won't you either be in a hospital or live close to one temporary?

[ZeeZee]

The dad is an idiot, but the officers are even dumber. Best to drive them to the nearest hospital rather than let the retards go on.

[Kloubek]

Ok... given they same situation, I would have been doing just as much - if not worse.

I think it is something that should be handled on a case by case basis. And in this case, I agree with a smaller fine, and his license back.

[ZeeZee]

Why not go to the nearest hospital?

[J-hop]

Originally posted by ZeeZee
Why not go to the nearest hospital?

Or call an ambulance FFS. The dad was a complete idiot, an ambulance can get to you faster than you can get to a hospital and if the dad felt paying for an ambulance was too expensive than he has no business procreating.

[revelations]

Going code 3 is extremely hazardous for trained members of the emergency services departments.

Now imagine joe blow doing 120 down a residential road in his beat up vehicle following a police cruise to the hospital.

By having the RCMP doing this, it sends a dangerous precedent to other would-be parents- that its ok to drive like an idiot because youre about to give birth - so its ok.

I wonder how many "speeding was a factor" crashes were caused by nubtards racing to the hospital for various reasons?

[ekguy]

yeah cuz driving 170 kms per hour is the "safest" thing for his pregnant wife. Dumbass should have called an ambulance, they are trained professionals.

Plus skipping a hospital for one over an hour drive away (with speed limit) is just stupid.

Definitely feel for the guy, but seriously he made just as many bad calls as the cops.

[calgary403]

Originally posted by ekguy
yeah cuz driving 170 kms per hour is the "safest" thing for his pregnant wife. Dumbass should have called an ambulance, they are trained professionals.

Plus skipping a hospital for one over an hour drive away (with speed limit) is just stupid.

Definitely feel for the guy, but seriously he made just as many bad calls as the cops.

Dumbass should have went to the closest hospital. This is why I do not feel sorry for him. If it's a life or death emergency you don't have the luxury of choosing the hospital you want.

However the officer that just let the guy go made a pretty stupid move on his part. He knew the guy would speed away as soon as he could.

[Cos]

Originally posted by calgary403


Dumbass should have went to the closest hospital.

:werd: dumbass should have done a lot of shit. He made it up to be a media event.... that seems to be the flavour now. If he did what was 'right' none of this would have happened.

[hampstor]

This is quite the contrast to CPS using HAWCs. I don't normally say anything negative about officers, however in this case i'm blown-the-fuck away.

It's a medical emergency, the officer's car IS an emergency vehicle yet the first officer didn't drive them to the hospital they needed to go to in Brandon or escort him.

I've been told by CPS officers that rural RCMP are ignorant 'Gravel Road Cowboys' who are more concerned with power tripping than actually helping people. This looks like one of those cases. The guy was grossly breaking the speed limit and likely talking back to the officer. That however doesn't excuse the first officer from doing his job by protecting them and the public.

The officer let him continue on his merry fucking way. That's negligent.

Thankfully, the 2nd officer knew better and called an ambulance.

[Toma]

Speeding is not a crime.

Probability delta should not be punishable. That is plain immoral and goes against common decency.

Fuck the TSA.