TX - Jose Banda, 20, slain after running over 2 boys, Alvin, 7 Dec 2012

This sounds like justice to me!! Father saw this drunk hit his kids. IMO that's justice...

Oblio said:

Okay, I just read the article, it said that the boys were pushing a disabled vehicle at night. Was it dark? Did they even have the lights on? There's just not enough info to even judge if alcohol even played a roll.

Justice hasn't yet been achieved. Death isn't an appropriate punishment for vehicular manslaughter, even when alcohol is involved. And now the victims' family is further anguished at the potential imprisonment of the father/husband. Which he should be imprisoned. Sober, conscience choice to kill a person is at least as bad, or perhaps worse than the impaired judgment of someone who is driving drunk. Let the justice system do its job.

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I think the father should plead PTSD ....IMO.

I think the 20 year old who was not even at a legal age to drink ,with 4 years of driving under his belt tops ,would have a higher likelyhood to reoffend his crime than the father his.

Just an observation.

Justice is an impossible quest in some cases..

DairyGirl said:

From above link

Drunk driving is not an accident. He didn't accidentally pour himself drinks and accidentally drink them. He made a conscious decision to drink and then put himself behind the wheel of a car.
I hope the father gets a compassionate judge and jury and they let him go with a reduced sentence. He has suffered enough. I am sure even prison isn't as bad as living without his sons.

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If anything, I could see this being an NGRI, crime of passion, case.

fhc said:

and more from your link

Barajas and his sons were pushing the family's disabled pickup truck toward their home late that night, as the boys' mother and two younger siblings sat inside, according to a police report released by the Brazoria County Sheriff's Department.

so, not only the father, but the boys' mother and two younger siblings witnessed this horror!!!

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And they more than likely watched their father shoot this man.

It really is tragic. The whole thing. You can't solve violence with violence. It will get no one anywhere. Maybe 'justice' was served. But at what price? Not only have the remaining children lost their father, so to speak, but they also watched him (or maybe not...) take the life of another person. What does that teach them? You hurt me, I get to hurt you back? Is that what we want this world to be?

It is sad and I think the father was suffering terribly and probably not thinking rationally. It's too bad LE was there to stop him.

shadowraiths said:

If anything, I could see this being an NGRI, crime of passion, case.

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I think he may plead NGRI, but I don't think he'll get it. I think he'll get a lesser charge and a relatively light sentence.

belimom said:

And they more than likely watched their father shoot this man.

It really is tragic. The whole thing. You can't solve violence with violence. It will get no one anywhere. Maybe 'justice' was served. But at what price? Not only have the remaining children lost their father, so to speak, but they also watched him (or maybe not...) take the life of another person. What does that teach them? You hurt me, I get to hurt you back? Is that what we want this world to be?

It is sad and I think the father was suffering terribly and probably not thinking rationally. It's too bad LE was there to stop him.

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I totally agree with you. This is just terrible all the way around. TERRIBLE and so sad! I realize the father was in deep, deep, emotional pain, but violence solves nothing.

I do have one question. I thought I read that the toxicology tests have not come back yet? How did the father know the 20 year old man was drunk? I guess he could have smelled alcohol or recognized the man was visibly drunk. Such a sad story.

Its too bad the father didn't keep track of the amount of gas in his truck so he wouldn't run out of gas on a dark road at night. Then he and the boys wouldn't have been in the dangerous situation of pushing the truck in the dark. They could have been hit by anyone, even someone who wasn't drunk. It appeared that the drunk young man must have been going pretty fast to smash in the whole front end of his car besides killing the 2 young boys. I don't have much sympathy for drunk drivers but this driver was young and young people make many foolish mistakes. That doesn't excuse him but his poor choice had a tragic consequence that he hadn't planned on, or probably even given any thought to ahead of time. He should have been punished for what he did after a trial in a court of law. I can imagine how the father felt, but the father should not have shot the drunk driver. That just made the situation worse for everyone involved, including his own wife and other 2 children. The article didn't say if his wife and other children suffered any injuries in the crash.

A few years ago at Christmas time, we were coming home from my daughter's house and a car ahead of us was hit head on by a drunk driver who crossed the expressway median. Both cars went up in flames and we watched both drivers burn to death right in front of us. Other drivers got the 2 teenaged girls out of their (innocent) father's car and put them on the side of the road and wrapped them in blankets until the ambulances got there. The one girl died and the other was the only survivor of the crash. The drunk driver had been charged about 8 times previously for drunk driving and had just gotten his license back from his previous offense. And he was STILL allowed to drive. But no more because he's dead now. But he took an innocent father and daughter with him. They were on the way to meet the mother at the grandmother's house to celebrate Christmas. The picture of that crash, the fire, and the girls has never gone out of my mind even though its been several years now. And a very scary thought was that if we had left my daughter's house just 2 minutes earlier it would have been our car in the spot where the drunk driver killed the people. That thought was very sobering. I prayed for the surviving girl and her mom for a long time and I still wonder how the girl is doing. My husband and I don't drink at all and never have. I can't imagine driving drunk.

I have zero sympathy for the drunk driver, but I do feel for his loved ones. I hope the father is found not guilty and is able to return to what is left of his family.

Kimberlyd125 said:

Are you kidding?
He saw his kids DIE!!!

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And that makes it ok to blow this guys brains out? Judging from your post, you seem to think that makes it alright.

Scary. Because, chances are, he had no idea the guy was drunk, and just pulled his gun out and blew him away. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Kimberlyd125 said:

Oh my gosh.
Terrible.

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Yeah, terrible that they also witnessed their dad blow some guys brains out.

I'm sure they'll have nightmares for years.

oh_gal said:

And that makes it ok to blow this guys brains out? Judging from your post, you seem to think that makes it alright.

Scary. Because, chances are, he had no idea the guy was drunk, and just pulled his gun out and blew him away. Shoot first, ask questions later.

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I never said it was ok. In fact, I said its never ok to kill someone.

But to me, it's understandable for a father to totally lose his mind after witnessing his children being ran over.

Gypsy Road said:

I totally agree with you. This is just terrible all the way around. TERRIBLE and so sad! I realize the father was in deep, deep, emotional pain, but violence solves nothing.

I do have one question. I thought I read that the toxicology tests have not come back yet? How did the father know the 20 year old man was drunk? I guess he could have smelled alcohol or recognized the man was visibly drunk. Such a sad story.

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From the link in the opening post:

"Banda was determined to be intoxicated at the time of the crash," police said in their report.


ETA:

Banda, 21, was taken by Life Flight medical helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital - Texas Medical Center where he later died. Medical staff determined Banda was intoxicated when the crash took place.

http://wap.myfoxhouston.com/w/main/story/84795489/

oh_gal said:

Thank you! I was growing increasing alarmed by the overwhelming support this father was getting! He KILLED someone, in cold blood. At least the other driver had the excuse of being drunk for his actions.

This is what happens when everyone and their brother has a gun or two in their waistband/purse/glove compartment/under the seat, etc.

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The gun was at home. It happened right by the home. He went in and got it.
It was not in his waistband/purse/glove compartment or under his seat.


From the link in the opening post:

Witnesses at the scene watched Barajas walk to his home and allegedly retrieve the gun with which he shot Banda, according to a police report.

I read all the comments on this before I read the article. I figured he tracked the guy down later. But no He went home and got a gun..... I feel really sad for this whole situation. I always tell myself if anyone kills my kids I would hunt them down. But in this situation, how can you judge so easily that he was indeed drunk... Even before the cops got there this father did this. Was he up walking around, or did he just smell it. What if he really was not drunk but had bottles in his car that got smashed... In this situation the father was so deeply upset and its just to bad... I just don't have words.. I really don't. Would he have done this if he didn't think the guy was drunk, or did it even matter.

For someone to say he should have ran out of gas, make the gas thing is faulty.

Kimberlyd125 said:

The gun was at home. It happened right by the home. He went in and got it.
It was not in his waistband/purse/glove compartment or under his seat.


From the link in the opening post:

Witnesses at the scene watched Barajas walk to his home and allegedly retrieve the gun with which he shot Banda, according to a police report.

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So...this was not a "knee-jerk", heat of the moment, grief induced action? He actually had time to go home, get his gun, and come back and shoot the guy.

Huh.

keeponsearching said:

I read all the comments on this before I read the article. I figured he tracked the guy down later. But no He went home and got a gun..... I feel really sad for this whole situation. I always tell myself if anyone kills my kids I would hunt them down. But in this situation, how can you judge so easily that he was indeed drunk... Even before the cops got there this father did this. Was he up walking around, or did he just smell it. What if he really was not drunk but had bottles in his car that got smashed... In this situation the father was so deeply upset and its just to bad... I just don't have words.. I really don't. Would he have done this if he didn't think the guy was drunk, or did it even matter.

For someone to say he should have ran out of gas, make the gas thing is faulty.

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Right. It was "moments" after. That's why I think Dad just lost it from shock. I can't imagine how he felt seeing his boys plowed down.

Kimberlyd125 said:

I never said it was ok. In fact, I said its never ok to kill someone.

But to me, it's understandable for a father to totally lose his mind after witnessing his children being ran over.

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Oh, I understand the devastation and grief he must be feeling, too.

It just scares me how he handled his devastation and grief.

What do we need a legal system for? Let's just all get guns and mete out our own justice.

The fact they were pushing a car in the dark makes this situation a little "iffy" for me. As another poster asked, were the lights on? If they were in the middle of the lane then yeah, the risk of getting hit at night would be very real.

If the kids were playing in their front yard and a drunk driver suddenly careened off the road, into the yard and killed them then the situation would be more cut and dry, and I would sympathize more with the father. But based on what we read it sounds like both parties were partially at fault here.

oh_gal said:

Thank you! I was growing increasing alarmed by the overwhelming support this father was getting! He KILLED someone, in cold blood. At least the other driver had the excuse of being drunk for his actions.

This is what happens when everyone and their brother has a gun or two in their waistband/purse/glove compartment/under the seat, etc.

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You fail to realize the drunk driver also killed 2 people in cold blood, and driving drunk is NO excuse. In fact, it makes him guilty before the fact because he chose to drink and then he chose to drive.

If you need to blame these tragedy on something, blame it on alcohol, not guns. Without the alcohol, this probably wouldn't have happened. It seems to me people are forgetting, or shoving cause and effect out of the way. If this guy hadn't been drunk, the accident probably wouldn't have happened, and the father would not have shot him after he saw his 2 sons killed. For every action, there is a reaction. This father's reaction was understandable.

We need to put blame where it belongs, at the start, when this guy got drunk and decided to drive.

Yes, it's horrible all the way around. There are no good answers, no winners, just sadness all the way around.

belimom said:

I think he may plead NGRI, but I don't think he'll get it. I think he'll get a lesser charge and a relatively light sentence.

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Crime of passion......I agree. I also don't see him getting a harsh sentence.