aitah for considerinf leaving my son in the county jail hospital over the weekend instead of paying $9,500.00 in bail?

[u/ShowerElectrical9342]

My son hit a pregnant woman with his vehicle and broke his nose and has stitches on his lip.

He was arrested and is in the county jail hospital. He wouldn't tell me how badly injured the woman is, except that she might lose the baby.

He's a careless, distracted driver who has totalled 2 cars, which his bio dad immediately replaced with even better cars!

But now his bio dad is gone (heart attack) and I don't want to enable this dangerous driving problem.

I'm overwhelmed.

He has had accidents before, and has always been bailed out.

I'm trying to get a regular lawyer because now he says she might lose the baby and sue him.

He's 19.

But no one wants me to take the time to get a regular lawyer instead of this public defender who insists I must send the bail money NOW or my son will be in jail all weekend.

Honestly, I don't know. Maybe that would be good for him. Like a wakeup call.

He didn't mention alcohol, but why else would he he arrested for a car accident?

Help! I have to move fast!

AITAH for even thinking about letting him spend a weekend in jail?

[u/dollywooddude]

Let him rot and ponder the failure of his life. He might have killed a woman and her child. Devastated her family. But he’s uncomfortable. Who cares? Save the 10,000 op. Use a public defender. Stop wasting money on that murderous brat. He’s not worth it until he gets his shit together.

[u/Sudden_Peach_5629 → u/dollywooddude]

JFC, murderous brat? You don't even know the dude. Believe it or not, just because someone's a shitty driver doesn't mean they're automatically a shitty person. They're called accidents for a reason.

[u/LopsidedPalace → u/Sudden_Peach_5629]

They're called accidents because saying "John Doe made a series of potentially fatal mistakes while operating a multi-con piece of machinery through sheer negligence and someone was seriously injured and someone may die because of it" makes people like John Doe and his family very upset. It's no less true. It's just worse optics.

[u/DearMrsLeading → u/Sudden_Peach_5629]

Hitting a human being puts you beyond just being a shitty driver.

[u/Motherof42069 → u/Sudden_Peach_5629]

There are no accidents. Cars don't magically come alive. Physics are predictable. This is the third time it's occured. If it was a medical event his license would have been suspended. His actions show a pattern of homicidal negligence, which is why he's locked up with a 10k bail. You don't get to shoot guns off wildly in populated areas. Nor do you get to behave that way simply because you're behind a steering wheel.

[u/WitchBalls → u/Motherof42069]

In NYS they aren't called accidents anymore. Crashes.