Regarding the article, “Family asks to withdraw its part in damage claim in car crash”: Hands up, folks, we are being robbed!

Scenario: Three high school boys leave school in October. The ride includes driving way over the speed limit on 108th Street NE at 87th Avenue NE, where there is a flat spot in the downhill roadway that creates a “ski jump.” Unfortunately, when their car came down the front wheels were pointed right, the car veered off the pavement, down the embankment and into a tree. The driver died at the scene (my condolences to Juan’s family), one lad was hurt badly, the other critically.

Now enters an attorney to claim the road is unsafe. She hires an “expert” who says 18 mph is safe at that point, inferring the 30 mph posted speed was the cause of the crash. Hey, 45 is “safer” on I-5 if you don’t mind five days to L.A.

The attorney first claims she wants $70 million in damages due to bad road design, then drops it to $50 million after one of the families decides not to go forward. Maybe now it’s under $10 million. This is typical — send out a feeler on how much they can clip the taxpayers for, then drop to a “settlement” price so they all collect a few million from those who actually work for a living.

Why is it the road’s fault when a driver does something dangerous and gets hurt?

Richard Jauch

Camano Island