Comments on: Madly terrified

By: Ekat

Ekat — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:05:57 +0000

I agree with BeauJacques. I am NOT excusing what Ben did, but I made a lot of bad choices in my teens and 20s, so I won’t rain down wrath upon his head. Not because I’m not angry at what happened, but because I would be a hypocrite if I did. The only difference between myself and Ben is that my actions didn’t have the horrible consquences that his did. I grew up into a responsible adult, learning from age, not a tragedy. I am no better than him, only luckier.

To everyone that has always had the good sense to make smart choices in all ages of your lives, I admire you, and understand your outrage. To those that, like me, made bad choices and didn’t pay a price, say a prayer of gratitude that your stupidity didn’t hurt or kill another person.

Finally, RIP, Lisa. My heart aches for you and your family.

By: dislocated pittsburgher

dislocated pittsburgher — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:45:10 +0000

Another tragic loss of life. Society needs to address this growing problem of driving while doing everything else but driving. It is not just drunk drivers, it is distracted drivers also. I know of a 36 year old man who was killed while getting the mail from his rural mailbox. He left behind 2 children and his wife who was expecting their 3rd child. The other driver was not drunk. She was mad at her boyfriend and was not paying attention to the road. As he stood on the side of the road she drove directly into him. People need to respect that if they drive a car they have the potential to kill. This goes for all distractions, especially the latest cell phones. Its not that important, it can wait. My prayers go out to Lisa’s family. Thank you for allowing me to voice my opinion.

By: Legallypgh(Kathy)

Legallypgh(Kathy) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:43:22 +0000

re: the kid being charged — the police have a certain amount of time in order to officially file charges, and believe me, they are making sure all their ducks are in a row before doing so. After the police file charges, it will be up to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office as to whether to prosecute or not, so stay tuned, and if they choose not to, then you know where to turn your anger and attention.

By: Whatsername

Whatsername — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:20:37 +0000

I grew up in Mt. Lebanon and still live here, not more than 5 minutes away from the crash scene. I have believed for a long time that the intersection where Ben hit Ms. Styles should have a stop light, as it’s a dangerous intersection. Having said that, I was in school with the Copes and I was not surprised to hear that Ben was high on marijuana. There was a pretty serious drug problem when I attended school and from current students I know, there is still one. Maybe this tragedy will spawn some close-to-home examples for anti-drug education at the schools, and dissuade some people from doing these drugs. It was a frequent sight to see Jerd, the (now-retired) drug-sniffing dog in the halls when I was in school and it was such a shame that they had to do these sweeps. I really hope that from tragedy, we can better educate these kids to make better choices, and maybe this will force those in charge to stop pretending this is a Utopia.

By: JennE

JennE — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:01:52 +0000

I’m so angry as well… we shared a mutual friend who is completely broken up over this. As a mom — it’s just so close to home. I hate that this kid hasn’t been charged yet and is free. I hope they nail him. If not… then I severely question the justice system.

Ginny — I hope this is ok to share…

For those who would like to help the Styles family:

Contributions in memory of Lisa Styles may be made to the Autism Society of America in her name.
Or, to donate directly to her family, mail or drop off a check made out to “Children of Lisa Styles Trust” to this or any Dollar Bank location:
Dollar Bank
Lebanon Shops Office
400 Mt. Lebanon Blvd
Suite 2
Pittsburgh, PA 15234