About 10 years ago, my son was rear-ended by an illegal. “Hit and run,” my son’s vehicle was disabled and unable to chase the driver of the damaged-but-not-disabled vehicle that hit him. The police were called. They wrote the usual report, but cannot take the time to look for all of these “minor” incidents.
My son’s injuries took him off work a few days, costing him money for his loss of work, and left him with a $5,000 hospital bill and a $3,500 vehicle repair bill. After repairing his vehicle and returning to work, he searched Santa Maria neighborhoods for weeks afterward and did find the hit-and-run vehicle partly hidden in a garage in northeast Santa Maria. Police were again called—the driver supposedly fled back to his country. Nothing could be done at that point. In addition, I have a couple of friends who have also had pretty serious injuries in this same type of situation, also left to pay for damages.
Call the checkpoints whatever you want, but they are working. Otherwise, there would not have been such a large turnout in opposition. Maybe PUEBLO, being the high-ranking voice for this group, would like to step up and start paying for damages incurred by illegals. Put “their” money where their mouth is!
I believe the Santa Maria Police Department should now incorporate the immigrations department in its checkpoints. Being politically correct will not fix this situation—it only prolongs the inevitable and allows this trend to continue, making dangers worse for those of us who are insured and driving legal. Our streets need to be at their maximum safety. This is not a racial issue. Laws are being broken if you are not here legally no matter what color of skin. Clearly, it is a law enforcement issue. Mr. Macagni, it’s time to step it up.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2009.