Orange County couple who lost 3 kids expecting triplets

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I watched an interview with the couple last night. Tragic story...the children were all beautiful.

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- An Orange County couple whose three children died in a big-rig crash just six months ago are expecting triplets.

Lori Coble is seven weeks pregnant with two girls and a boy, who are expected in May. The 30-year-old mother had the three embryos implanted following in vitro fertilization.

"We had a one-in-10 chance of them sticking and they all three did," Chris Coble, 36, told the Orange County Register.

"It's kind of a two-sided coin," he said. "We feel amazed that it's happening but at the same time we're still mourning Kyle, Emma and Katie. Nothing will ever replace them. We feel joy for what's happening but we're crying and missing the kids."

"Those kids were our whole lives," he told KCBS-TV on Wednesday.

Kyle, 5; Emma, 4; and 2-year-old Katie were killed May 4 when a tractor-trailer rig slammed into the back of the family minivan on Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo. The minivan was stopped in the slow lane of traffic. The trucker was traveling an estimated 70 mph.

Mrs. Coble, who was driving, and her mother were injured.

The truck driver, Jorge Miguel Romero, 37, of Apple Valley, has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter. He could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

Court records show Romero had previous citations from 1997 through 2006 for speeding, driving without lights and driving with a suspended license.

The death of the children prompted an outpouring of sympathy for the Cobles. People from around the world sent e-mails to the family, and more than 100,000 pink and blue ribbons were wrapped around trees and light poles in the county.

http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/477176.html

[yassmine2878 1]

The truck driver, Jorge Miguel Romero, 37, of Apple Valley, has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter. He could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

That's all? The ba$tard.

[Ban Hammer 14,652]

The truck driver, Jorge Miguel Romero, 37, of Apple Valley, has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter. He could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

That's all? The ba$tard.

agreed should be more like 30.

[mawilson 2,133]

OC sucks.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

good for them

[Peikko 1,575]

It was a terrible accident. However, what I found interesting is that the couple are speaking out because they have to issues they would like addressed. First, the particular off ramp where the accident occurred which is notorious and second the lack of rules regarding hours on the road that truck drivers are permitted to drive.

I find the second particularly interesting because up until now I didn't realise that US truck drivers didn't have the same regulations that pertain to European truck drivers with strict rules on how many hours a truck driver is allowed to drive before taking compulsory breaks.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Purple_Hibiscus

[Jasman0717 9]

Never heard anything about this but then again, I don't read the Register or the L.A. Times

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It was a terrible accident. However, what I found interesting is that the couple are speaking out because they have to issues they would like addressed. First, the particular off ramp where the accident occurred which is notorious and second the lack of rules regarding hours on the road that truck drivers are permitted to drive.

I find the second particularly interesting because up until now I didn't realise that US truck drivers didn't have the same regulations that pertain to European truck drivers with strict rules on how many hours a truck driver is allowed to drive before taking compulsory breaks.

My observation - I drive all the way from that area into LA and back via the 405, during the week, and that stretch of the 5 (between Crown Valley and El Toro) seems insanely dangerous. There's 5 lanes each way but a$$holes will be driving 80 in the right lanes where typically the slower drivers and merging traffic happen. And the worst part is, I'll be trying to merge onto the freeway and have to watch out for these lead footers while the left 3 lanes are wide open! My hunch is that these are drivers who hop on the freeways for a short distance and then hop off, but dammit they make the road there really dangerous.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[JODO 2]

Good for them. That guy should be locked up for a long, long time.

[Marilyn. 340]

there sure are some crazy drivers out there on those LA freeways ... and most of them don't know how to use their blinkers

[Peikko 1,575]

The Cobles don't want the driver locked up for life, they want this:

Link

"The details of truck-related deaths are hard to believe," Chris Coble, said. "The number of deaths is the equivalent of 26 fully-loaded airplanes falling from the sky in one year. It's an industry fraught with fraud. The truck drivers get paid by the mile. The more hours they drive – the more they get paid. The only thing stopping them from driving as much as they can is themselves."

The Cobles want monitoring devices in place that track the trucks and record the distances they drive. Drivers are currently allowed to drive for 11 hours a day, and almost 80 hours a week. The coalition wants to see those numbers reduced.

"Jorge Romero (the driver charged with three counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of the Coble children) is told to drive from one place to the next and then back again," said Chris Coble. "He doesn't have any say in whether he is driving safely or not. There are no checks and balances to keep the roads safe."

The Cobles point to European countries with monitoring devices to oversee truckers. These GPS-type devices can determine if they're speeding or on roads they shouldn't be on. This has significantly cut down on truck-related injury and deaths, said Chris Coble.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The Cobles don't want the driver locked up for life, they want this:

Link

"The details of truck-related deaths are hard to believe," Chris Coble, said. "The number of deaths is the equivalent of 26 fully-loaded airplanes falling from the sky in one year. It's an industry fraught with fraud. The truck drivers get paid by the mile. The more hours they drive – the more they get paid. The only thing stopping them from driving as much as they can is themselves."

The Cobles want monitoring devices in place that track the trucks and record the distances they drive. Drivers are currently allowed to drive for 11 hours a day, and almost 80 hours a week. The coalition wants to see those numbers reduced.

"Jorge Romero (the driver charged with three counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of the Coble children) is told to drive from one place to the next and then back again," said Chris Coble. "He doesn't have any say in whether he is driving safely or not. There are no checks and balances to keep the roads safe."

The Cobles point to European countries with monitoring devices to oversee truckers. These GPS-type devices can determine if they're speeding or on roads they shouldn't be on. This has significantly cut down on truck-related injury and deaths, said Chris Coble.

Very interesting. Thanks for the post, PH.

[JenT 0]

... US truck drivers didn't have the same regulations that pertain to European truck drivers with strict rules on how many hours a truck driver is allowed to drive before taking compulsory breaks.

This is all the US requires:

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/fmcsa0403.htm

[mawilson 2,133]

The Cobles point to European countries with monitoring devices to oversee truckers. These GPS-type devices can determine if they're speeding or on roads they shouldn't be on. This has significantly cut down on truck-related injury and deaths, said Chris Coble.

Big Brother Europe, thanks.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The Cobles point to European countries with monitoring devices to oversee truckers. These GPS-type devices can determine if they're speeding or on roads they shouldn't be on. This has significantly cut down on truck-related injury and deaths, said Chris Coble.

Big Brother Europe, thanks.

For big rigs on the road, absolutely.