NEW CANADA: Maine State Police have reported that a young woman, Alicia Fiordellisi, 19 years of age, was driving with a cat on her lap. She was driving in Aroostock County. The cat peed on her lap. The woman was distracted. She collided with a school bus carrying 58 students. The bus driver and some students were injured. Alicia suffered non-life-threatening-injuries to her head and leg in the accident which took place last Tuesday afternoon. However, sadly, her cat was killed.
Apparently she was travelling south on Route 161. She felt a wet spot on her trousers (‘pants’ in America) and looked down. When she looked up she had swerved into a bus travelling on the northbound lane. Fiordellesi hit the bus head on causing massive damage to the car. The police say that charges are pending by which they must mean that they are going to level charges against the woman: careless driving.
This article focuses on the cat. In hindsight, but perhaps in foresight, Fiordellisi should have realised that driving a car with a cat on your lap was not the best idea in that it jeopardises both the safety of the driver and the cat. Ideally and normally, cats should be in cat carriers when in cars; common sense, I know. That said, I remember many years ago driving to the West Coast of Ireland from London with two cats in the car and because of the length of the journey we had to let them out of the cat carriers. Nothing untoward happened but a risk was taken and I’m not sure that I would do it again today.
Perhaps Fiordellisi was taking her cat to the vet for cystitis. Just an idle thought.
Source: foxbangor.com.
There is an facebook video showing a cat riding on the front dashboard of a car. While the kitty is enjoying himself I wonder how much fun it will be if the owners ever have to slam on the brakes.
Cats belong in hard shell carriers securely strapped in. There are several that are seat belt ready. Soft carriers are simply padded blankets that will collapse if anything heavy falls on them. All carriers should be secured with zip ties including the door when in transit. A nail clipper opens them quickly at the vet. There is more than one story where a hard shell carrier was thrown from a car in a accident and came open.
I wish they could charge her with animal neglect and cruelty resulting in death.
Yes, that was my thought, that they should have charged her animal neglect resulting in the death of the animal. Not intentional but a good lesson to put out there. I mean it’s the only lesson to take away from this really.