Brickbat: Unsafe Speeds

Minnesota State Trooper Shane Roper has been charged with manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide, and several counts of criminal vehicular operation. Prosecutors say Roper was traveling 83 mph in a 40 mph zone when he T-boned the passenger side of a Ford Focus, killing a high school cheerleader and injuring two passengers as well as three people in another vehicle. An investigation revealed that earlier in the day, Roper "engaged in high-speed driving without emergency lights, in one instance reaching a speed of 135 mph, other times over 99 mph." At the time of the crash, Roper was "attempting to catch up to a traffic violator."