SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) — A Norwegian man attempting to rollerblade across the U.S. was killed in a hit-and-run in Kansas, officials said.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 24-year-old Joachim Lanham.

Lanham was documenting his rollerblading journey across the U.S. on Instagram. According to a post from his family, he was hit by an SUV on day 22 of his journey from New York to Los Angeles

  • notsure@fedia.io
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    20 hours ago

    FUCK CARS…especially fuck that this asshole won’t suffer anything worse than a slap on the wrist for KILLING someone.

    • bampop@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      On the other hand, isn’t an 82 year old hurtling around in 2 tons of metal with only a vague idea of what’s happening outside that box… normal?

      Why single out this woman, when there are millions just like her who are only different in that thus far, by sheer luck, they haven’t happened to kill anyone? This one won the murder lottery, millions more bought a ticket.

      • notsure@fedia.io
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        12 hours ago

        I would like to welcome you to America, where everything is made up and the points don’t matter. I wish this was funny

        • bampop@lemmy.world
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          15 hours ago

          I think you’re missing the point here. The individual is not the issue. The fact that any 82 year old is hurtling around in 2 tons of metal oblivious to the world outside is the issue (or at least part of it). Do you think this woman is some kind of exceptional case?

          • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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            14 hours ago

            My gradfather drove far into his 90s, and only stopped when he became deaf. Never hurt anyone or did anything unsafe. The obliviousness really depends on the person.

            I do favor frequent testing for older drivers, though. When things go wrong, it can happen suddenly and people are often in denial about their continuing fitness to drive.

            • fishy@lemmy.today
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              7 hours ago

              My grandfather also drove into his 90s and had no accidents. However, he had macular degeneration and struggled to see. The DMV knew he couldn’t see well and still granted him extension after extension. We had to sit him down and talk him into giving up the car because the DMV would’ve let him keep going until somebody got hurt.

              Frequent testing for the elderly would definitely save lives.

            • bampop@lemmy.world
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              13 hours ago

              I agree totally about the testing. Old people often drive until an accident or near miss demonstrates their inability to continue. When you live in a world where driving is a necessity, of course people will push themselves to do it until they reach a point of failure.

              • Bo7a@piefed.ca
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                10 hours ago

                I’ve been yelling it into the void since the 90s - Mandatory Annual Testing After Sixty-Five. And not the book test. Get in a car and drive with a human who can gauge your ability and mark any decline.

                • grue@lemmy.worldM
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                  8 hours ago

                  I’d like to see that and also re-testing maybe every 5 or 10 years for young and middle-aged drivers. Both book and practical, because people forget the finer points of the rules and also sometimes new ones get made (e.g. new NACTO recommendations for cycling infrastructure).

                  • kestrel7_7@lemmy.world
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                    7 hours ago

                    This is a decent idea, but the tests are already way too easy anyway. I want difficult tests where you have to learn to drive like James Bond to even get a license in the first place.

    • notsure@fedia.io
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      20 hours ago

      …i don’t give a fuck if she’s 82, that just means she shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.

      • UnequalExchange@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        Im gonna keep it 💯with you , you are able and within your right to think that it doesnt matter that she’s 82 .

        But in my opinion I already know there’s gonnabe some landmark study or studies thst comes out that proves thst people at or around the ages of 70-75+ should not be driving at all since people of this age tend to lack coordination , reaction time, and awareness of many of the driving related events happening around them.

        I wish I had compiled it but something Ive noticed is that in hit-and-run stories is thst you will find a disturbingly common trend of seeing that a very old senior ‘hit something or someone’ , ‘never noticed it was there before’, ‘and kept on going cause they thought it was nothing’ .

        There comes an age when you just have to accept thst youre just too old to do some things. Not a single paid athlete in basketball anywhere in the world has been able to stay io that profession past the age of 50… there is a reason for this…

        Never allow your ego to betray your understanding of humanity and your understanding of biology.

        • notsure@fedia.io
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          12 hours ago

          I have known plenty of 90 year olds who could drive fine, this woman hadn’t been physically tested for probably 20 years.

      • 0x0@lemmy.zip
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        14 hours ago

        In Murica? How the hell is she going to the pharmacy 5km away to buy her 500$ prescription? Take the non-existing public transit?

        • johncandy1812@lemmy.ca
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          14 hours ago

          Everything gets delivered in today’s gig economy. If you can’t tell if you’ve hit a full grown man while driving - trade your car in and take an uber to your appointments.