GLASTONBURY, CT – Two 17-year-old boys were arrested and charged with misdemeanors when they didn’t act to stop their friend Jane Modlesky from driving while drunk. Modlesky was killed in a fatal accident and police are holding the boys partially responsible.
One of the boys had originally been driving the vehicle before making a stop to get out while they let Modlesky continue on despite her being clearly intoxicated. Police charged one boy with reckless endangerment in the second degree, violation of passenger restrictions an operating a motor vehicle between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. The other boy was charged with violation of passenger restrictions and operating a motor vehicle between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Agent James Kennedy of the Glastonbury Police Department said, “They very well knew that she was intoxicated and should not have been driving.”
California attorney Lawrence Taylor and former law professor speaking to Yahoo Shine said, “This is a highly unusual situation. It’s basically saying that they had a positive duty to stop her. But you cannot be prosecuted because you didn’t stop someone from engaging in criminal conduct: If someone is holding a gun and is about to shoot it, and you don’t pull it out of their hand, you cannot be held accountable. So I think the police are kind of overreaching here.”
Taylor explained that DUI is usually a “general intent crime,” rather than a “specific intent crime” such as theft or murder. “If you have a general intent crime, it’s pretty hard to be an accomplice,” he said. “But having said that, there are states who have said yes, you can be an accomplice.”
