88岁司机就“Tour de Fat”撞人案首次出庭：被控车辆杀人等7项罪名
8月29日在科罗拉多州柯林斯堡市中心“Tour de Fat”游行期间驾车撞死一人、撞伤六人的88岁司机 Van Lemaster，10月22日首次出庭应讯。《柯林斯堡科罗拉多人报》（Fort Collins Coloradoan）当天报道了庭审情况。
Van Lemaster 身穿深色西装外套和牛仔裤，在律师陪同下走上被告席，其律师称当事人听力不佳，请求为其配备耳机。旁听席座无虚席，但整个聆讯不到5分钟即结束。根据逮捕宣誓书，8月29日上午，年度“Tour de Fat”游行刚在附近结束，数百名骑行者正穿过柯林斯堡老城区，Van Lemaster 在 Rio Grande 墨西哥餐厅用餐后，驾驶雪佛兰 Silverado 试图倒出停车位，先撞上一辆行驶中的汽车，随后挂前进挡猛踩油门，冲上人行道撞倒行人，最后撞树停下。事故造成33岁的丹佛居民 Joshua Robert Douglass 死亡，另有6人受伤、其中4人重伤，Van Lemaster 本人也受伤。
检方共提出7项指控：车辆杀人（鲁莽驾驶）1项、四级重罪；车辆伤害（鲁莽驾驶）4项、五级重罪；鲁莽危害2项、二级轻罪。若罪名成立，车辆杀人罪可判2至6年监禁（加重情节最高12年）。Van Lemaster 目前以7.5万美元个人具结保释，条件之一是不得驾驶机动车，下次出庭时间为12月8日。其律师声明称，当事人对任何人均无恶意，“那是一场混乱而令人困惑的局面下发生的悲剧性事故”。
88-year-old driver makes first court appearance in Tour de Fat crash: faces vehicular homicide and six other charges
Van Lemaster, the 88-year-old driver who killed one person and injured six others during the Tour de Fat parade in downtown Fort Collins, Colorado, on August 29, appeared in court for the first time on October 22. The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported the hearing the same day.
Wearing a dark suit coat and jeans, Lemaster approached the podium with his attorney, who said his client had difficulty hearing and asked for a headset. The benches behind the podium were full of observers, but the hearing lasted less than five minutes. According to the arrest affidavit, on the morning of August 29, just after the annual Tour de Fat parade ended nearby and several hundred bicyclists were moving through Old Town Fort Collins, Lemaster left the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant and tried to back his Chevrolet Silverado out of a parking spot. He first struck a passing car, then shifted into drive and fully depressed the gas pedal, driving onto the sidewalk and hitting pedestrians before colliding with a tree. Joshua Robert Douglass, 33, of Denver, was killed; six others were injured, four seriously; Lemaster was also injured.
Prosecutors filed seven charges: one count of vehicular homicide (reckless driving), a Class 4 felony; four counts of vehicular assault (reckless driving), a Class 5 felony; and two counts of reckless endangerment, a Class 2 misdemeanor. Vehicular homicide carries two to six years in prison, up to 12 years with aggravating circumstances. Lemaster is free on a $75,000 personal recognizance bond, one condition of which is that he not operate a motor vehicle; his next court appearance is December 8. In a statement, his attorney said Lemaster had no ill will or criminal intent toward anyone that day and that what happened was a tragic accident in a chaotic and confusing situation.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：柯林斯堡老城区历史街区。摄影：Wusel007，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
