[nysulli]

5 Teens Arrested for Railroad Vandalism in Chili - 13WHAM.com

to add to the story, both engines are apparently badly damaged, one possibly totaled

I really hope CSX goes after the 5 of them for the monetary damages, as well as the town which had 2 or 3 major roads blocked for 11 hours, requiring a fair amount of attention from the police to direct traffic etc.

 

[fordgtlover]

While there's no doubt this is an incredibly stupid thing to do, it does raise the question of how to appropriately deal with these kids.

They need firm and swift dealings, but 5 - 7 years in jail will just ruin their young stupid lives.

 

[shigzeo]

indeed, stupid and im sure unless they are actually evil, they must feel terribly now. they obviously need to be made to feel the acuteness of the act the perpetrated and be made to never forget the punishment that ensued. 5-7 years in jail however will probably not do the proper thing. they need to be given responsibilities rather than a cell and loads of time

 

[nysulli]

one more addition, they stuck around to watch the train hit, then got caught walking into a nearby Mcdonalds to celebrate the prank, so they knew what they were doing.

 

[Carmantom]

It seems it doesn't really say if the train was moving or not. If the train was moving and they wanted to see what would happen, I say throw the book at them. Especially if people could have been on it and the train could have derailed, or worse serious injury, or death to others.

Too many people including kids get away with too much crap these days. What's to deter them. One should only expect a small slap on the hand. Nothing to seriously deter crime. I think this was serious and should be dealt with in such a manner.

 

[shigzeo]

of course they knew. place a big rock on tracks takes time, effort and planning - there is no way they did not know. they cannot all be hypnotised... wait... maybe...

 

[nysulli]

well, i really should have said they showed absolutely no remorse for their actions, almost like it just didn't occur to them that they had just severely damaged a 63 car train, possibly damaged whatever goods were being transported, not to mention causing a 10-12 hour delay for the train costing CSX who knows what to right the situation in getting new engines out to the place to get things moving, as well as potential delays to other trains

so yeah, throw the book at them, at some point this country has to get a sense of accountability, even if its at the cost of a few ruined lives after a few people who are almost legally adults do something this stupid and reckless, if that had been a passenger train, dozens of people could have been seriously hurt, or possibly even killed

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nysulli /img/forum/go_quote.gif one more addition, they stuck around to watch the train hit, then got caught walking into a nearby Mcdonalds to celebrate the prank, so they knew what they were doing.

I'm not suggesting for a second that they didn't know what they were doing. I do wonder whether they understood the gravity and potential for disaster that they were courting.

Maybe they really are evil little craps, but seventeen year olds tend not to think things through too well; at least in my experience.

Yes, they should be punished; perhaps several hundred hours of community service each (friends to the old, or picking up litter in parkland), but jail will ruin their lives. The world doesn't need another handful of institutionalised youths. The world does need a handful of teenagers who have learnt from their stupidity and grow up to become productive memebers of society.

 

[Carmantom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, they should be punished; perhaps several hundred hours of community service each (friends to the old, or picking up litter in parkland), but jail will ruin their lives. The world doesn't need another handful of institutionalised youths. The world does need a handful of teenagers who have learnt from their stupidity and grow up to become productive memebers of society.

Too easy. It's easy that screws up the world. I could just see them getting community service sentences laughing their butts off at the system.

All kinds of kids can find themselves in a jackpot like this. A good swift kick (sentence) in the butt is sure to get the attention of the good ones. Maybe the bad (evil as some refer to) would have stayed bad anyway.

My personal experience has been to be the one in a jackpot and sending me to reform school for 11 months when I was a kid sure got my attention.

 

[DanT]

That remind me of something that happen here in canada a couple of year ago

edmontonsun.com - Edmonton News- House arrest for youth who killed bus driver

A groups of teens tought it would be a good idea to drop a 16kg (35lb) bolder from an overpass into incomming cars.

A bus driver was killed after he receive the rock through his windshield.

 

[fordgtlover]

I'm not suggesting easy. I'm suggesting that they should be punished for their crime in a manner that does get their attention (as you say), but does not screw up their lives.

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanT /img/forum/go_quote.gif That remind me of something that happen here in canada a couple of year ago edmontonsun.com - Edmonton News- House arrest for youth who killed bus driver A groups of teens tought it would be a good idea to drop a 16kg (35lb) bolder from an overpass into incomming cars. A bus driver was killed after he receive the rock through his windshield.

We've had a few of those in Australia as well. I think the Government changed the laws so that tossing rocks off over-passes is now considered a very serious crime..

 

[intoflatlines]

Chili = food
Chile = Country

Off topic, but I went to Chile for Christmas last year and it was so much fun. Coming from Midwest US and it being my first trip out of the country, it was really interesting to see the holiday season in full blown summer weather.

 

[beerguy0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoflatlines /img/forum/go_quote.gif Chili = food Chile = Country

The residents of Chili pronounce it as both i's having the long I sound, as in island.

Kids don't really contemplate the consequences of their actions. They caused a lot of damage, and cost CSX and the town of Chili a lot of money, not even to mention the hours that commuters lost navigating around the blocked crossings. While you do hate to see kids that age sent to jail for a stupid prank, they definitely deserve some stiff punishment. Maybe they should spend some hours working on a railroad crew, after they get out of reform school or whatever.

I bet there are some unhappy parents this morning. This could cost them a lot of money, if CSX decides to sue. Locomotives ain't cheap.

 

[nysulli]

I'm not saying they should be locked up for 10 years, but a year or 2 in lockup and the monetary payments would wake them up a bit, and serve as a warning to others

perfect example, my father in-law is a security guard at a neighboring towns HS, ANY fight, be it a slugfest or 1 punch in school and the students involved are arrested and charged accordingly starting last year, all of a sudden this year fights are way down.

Kids do respond when they realize that they will be held accountable for their actions, at other local suburban HS where the kids aren't being prosecuted, there are just as many if not more fights then in recent years, so it seems to me that a good swift kick in the ass would not only straighten these kids out some, but would give a collective kick in the ass to every other kid so they don't step so far out of line.