What I don't understand is this, if the kid was doing, what was it, 80 mph, and they both met up at the stop sign at the same time, what was the distance btwn the starting point of each vehicle and that stop sign and how fast was the other vehicle going?

I think the punishment is light but when you say he won't learn his lesson, that's ignorant. I know tommy and I was friends with curtis. He has learned his lesson. Maybe a couple close calls puts you on the edge but KILLING some of his best friends will haunt him for the rest of his life. When he does get in a car again, that will be on his mind every time.

Steve9036: If Curtis had lived I don't believe he would be facing the same charges as Tommy. Curtis was going 26 mph and Tommy was going over 75 mph. How often do people die when 2 vehicles going 26 mph crash???? It was Tommy's excessive speed that was the killing factor. This was a country road - - no lines painted out in the sticks. You can't drive safely on these roads at 60 mph let alone 75 mph or more. Actually I believe the parents of the children who were killed wanted Tommy to be put in Juvi Court. That was decided before it went to the Judge. They want him to get counseling and make something with his life - - even if their kids can not. Juvi system wants to rehabilitate while adult system is just for punishment. I don't believe the sentence seems to be enough - - but nothing will ever bring those kids back even if Tommy were locked up for the rest of his life. Its a very sad situation and I hope that some one learns something from this - - if Tommy doesn't I hope other young drivers do

With a sentence that light, will he really learn anything? Doesn't sound like it means anything to someone of his character.

The report didn't say the speed limit where he was charged for going 70 MPH. Did his parents know about this? I don't care what you do as a juvenile, but I believe it reflects on your parents and life at home.

Looks like a d-bag

There are no winners in the case. However hopefully this young man will take the rest of his life and make something good of it as a memorial to the lives of those lost in this accident. It is possible that Mr. Crawford can make something positive with his life. I know somebody who had an accident at the age of 16 in which his best friend was killed. That 16 year old is now a very successful businessman and leads a productive, successful, positive life. I cant even imagine the guilt that this young man will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Reports and witnesses state Curtis Bowman never stopped at the stop sign and physics proves it. The truck he was driving has an average 0-60mph time of just under 9 seconds. So if Bowman was stopped at the stop sign it would have taken him 72 feet to accelerate from a dead stop to 26mph which is the minimum speed the trooper’s state he was traveling at the time of the collision. The intersection isn't even 50 feet wide. So if he stopped at the stop sign and took off from a dead stop he would have been through the intersection by over 20 feet before Crawford's truck got there. The only way Bowman was doing 26 mph in the middle of that intersection is if he ran the stop sign. He may have tried to stop when he saw Crawford coming from the other direction but by then it was too late. Curtis Bowman ran the stop sign and if he would have survived the crash he would have been facing the same charges as Tommy Crawford.

LilDebbie1, Many 17 years olds that commit far worse crimes than reckless homicide remain in juvenile court everyday. In order to bind a juvenile over to the adult system certain criteria have to be met and it wasn't. Nothing to do with selective justice or being friends with the judge.

The judge sent him to juvenile detention because he was tried as a juvenile. He should have been tried as an adult. His family knows somebody & that why he was tried a a juvenile. It's called selective justice.