I'm surprised no one has commented on that yet! His family obviously didn't do their job raising him if he wound up doing that. That is whyI blame them too. Plus they should not have allowed a depressed/suicidal teen to get behind the wheel of a car. If they didn't realize he was depressed or suicidal, they are obviously terrible parents anyway. They will likely not be held accountable for his actions though. Parents of children 15 and older in most states cannot be held accountable for their children's actions by law. In Mississippi, it applies to parents of children 13 and older. But I would still attempt to sue his family. Ihighly doubthis insurance policy has enough money to cover all the medical bills. I hope your coworker has underinsured motorist coverage.

 

I have to disagree with you on that one. I found myself extremely depressed and nearly suicidal in October and I wouldn't put any blame on my parents for it. It was a result of my own actions and events that took place in my life and how I handled them (immaturely). The whole situation could have been avoided if I had only reached out to my parents, but of course pride took hold.

I do agree that his parents should have been more responsible and noticed he was depressed, but even my own parents had a hard time telling.

Also, another parallel of this story and my own life is that I did a lot of [agressive] driving while I was depressed, but I wasn't out looking for a way to die. I was simply trying to have control over something because I didn't have control over anything else. Luckily most of the driving took place on back country roads in Wisconsin, not populated St. Paul.

Bottom line is, in my opinion, people are products of their environment and it affects their actions and behavior, so obviously his parents, lifestyle, friends, peers, school, money must have played a role somehow. No one just up and kills themself when life is good.

 

i agree wit finch

 

im sorry u had to feel that way...
i know what you mean i went to the similar situation as u say right there
its hard to talk bout it with them too...
well to me it was didnt want them to worry about me or have that in the back of there head..

 

** Thank You Member, I shall do the same as you did and join you on this one **
WheelBrokerAng

 

My mom is a shrink, and I can tell you right now its not easy to recognize when certain people are depressed, especially certain types of people. Even if it is diagnosed, Its very hard to treat depression. The primary cause of depression in teenagers is low self esteem, and its not easy to make people feel good about themselves. What should you do? Make them see a shrink twice a week? the prospect of having to see a shrink is often more psycologically damaging for people with low self esteem. Also, Then the teen knows that their friends and family know they see a psychologist, and immediatly write off any good deeds/compliments as simply trying to get them out of a depression. The only true way to improve someones self esteem is to improve the quality of their life. When someones still in high school, thats not easy.

I think it was selfish of that kid, but when you look at it from his point of view, what does he care if someone else dies? he'll be dead!
It may have been his way of getting back at the world. Please note im not defending what he did, only playing devils advocate.

Also, his family will suffer enough through this. their insurance policy should be maxed out, but the family shouldnt have to pay anything over the deductible. Your world is crushed enough when your child dies, knowing that they killed themselves is much worse. I cant even imagine if they killed themselves AND tried to take an innocent person with them.

 

Sorry to hear that. Hope she gets home to her children safely.

 

As a side note, depression doesnt mean suicidal, thinking about dying doesnt define the active impulse to take ones own life.... ive been depressed my whole life.... ive thought about killing myself..... i also believe suicide is a sign of weakness and a pathetic losers way out of a situation that more then likely can be changed..... i also enjoy video games too much to deprive myself of that.... but theres wonderful little chemicals in the brain that identify the difference between the person who thinks about killing themself, and the person who does it..... and a person who actively commits suicide doesnt care about hurting others in the process... well... unless they have no family or friends then theres really no one there to mourn for them but people who have family its a lack of consideration of what it will do to them, then theres innocent bystandard that suicides dont consider for example someone who jumps off a building....... its not like they consider what they hit when they land, but seriously the only person at fault is the person who commited suicide