| Right at the outset, let's be clear that the injuries to the boy in the Lowell hit-and-run are much worse than those to the boy in the Cambridge hit-and-run. Twelve year old Kelvin Savanhmixay of Lowell is looking at several weeks in the hospital and possible facial reconstruction surgery, whereas Samuel Tager's 13 year old son is experiencing numbness in his extremities and shoulder pain, and is receiving outpatient treatment.
But there are similarities as well. Both drivers, Michelle Medeiros and Anthony Galluccio, fled after causing an accident, and both have been charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury (according to the Globe, "additional charges are likely" against Medeiros because of the severity of the boy's injuries). Both are on the front page of today's Globe's Metro section.
Other compare-and-contrasts: Medeiros has no prior traffic infractions; Galluccio's history includes two DUIs (he was pardoned for one), along with a 2005 incident in which he caused an accident after drinking but no charges were filed, and police reports that he was drunk the morning of the hit-and-run. And one more: Medeiros's driver's license has been revoked; Galluccio's (as far as I know) has not.
So keep your eye on the hit-and-run cases about the 17-year-old girl from Methuen and the 42-year-old state Senator from Cambridge. I'm not saying equality of treatment is appropriate -- again, Medeiros caused much more serious injuries than Galluccio. But something like proportionality would be nice. |
