An Illinois couple suffered serious injuries after a young man crashed into their car three years ago. Quite literally adding insult to injury, the reckless driver has refused to formally apologize to the couple. A judge denied the young man's recent request to leave the state to attend the Grammy Awards this weekend because he had not followed court orders to apologize for causing the car accident.

The wealthy teen pled guilty to reckless driving after he sped through a stop sign and crashed into the victims, flipping their car three times. The couple suffered broken bones, lacerated internal organs and other injuries. During the sentencing for the man, he was placed on probation and ordered to be home by 10 p.m. every night. Therefore, he needed formal approval from the judge to leave the state to attend the Grammy Awards.

Another requirement of his sentence was that he needed to send apology letters to his victims. The fact that he had not sent the letters is further evidence of his reckless attitude, according to the couple he crashed into. Because he had not completed this, the judge denied his request to travel outside of the state for anything except medical school interviews. The trip to the Grammys would be a privilege, the judge said, and he did not take the steps necessary to earn that privilege.

The teen has a history of reckless driving and skirting the terms of his probation. This and his refusal to apologize for his thoughtless behavior have been very frustrating for the victims. They would like to see him accept responsibility so that he will not repeat his actions. The damage he caused changed their lives, and they could have died in the crash.

It is important to hold these dangerous drivers legally accountable so that a judge can enforce the terms of a sentence. Victims not only deserve compensation for an accident, they also deserve to feel that a negligent driver is going to be punished for their behavior.

Source: The Chicago Tribune, "Wealthy teen on probation for reckless driving in crash told he can't go to Grammys," Steve Schmadeke, Feb. 7, 2012