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Driver in golf cart accident faces two felony charges

By Howard B. Owens

An 18-year-old Byron resident who was reportedly driving a golf cart Nov. 26 on North Byron Road when the cart was struck from behind by a car, leading to the death of her passenger, was arrested today on two felony charges.

A blood sample taken by investigators that night allegedly tested positive for alcohol and a drug.

Cortney L. Greene, of North Byron Road, Byron, is charged with vehicular manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

The top felony, a Class D, carries a maximum prison term of seven years.

The Sheriff's Office did not release the type of drug allegedly in Green's system at the time of the accident.

Zachary J. Rusin, 18, of Holley, died as a result of his injuries after being thrown from the golf cart when it was struck.

The accident was reported at 12:07 a.m. and Green was arrested that morning and charged with DWI, at which time she agreed to provide a blood sample to law enforcement.

The driver of the car, Emmaleigh R. Odom, 19, of Pavilion, was not injured and not charged.

tom hunt

A sad ending to a sad tale. Let us hope that this young life will not be destroyed. I am sure she has suffered with the loss of her boy friend; a burden she will carry the rest of her life Yes she has to answer to the horrbile consequences of her actions; but let us hope the Law goes easy with her.

Feb 29, 2012, 8:38am Permalink
Doug Yeomans

TP, I concur. I can't tell you how many times I did something like this in my youth but fortunately nothing disastrous happened. Two people being young and tragedy struck them. Zachary paid the ultimate price but Cortney has to carry this for the rest of her life. No matter what the law does, she's already being punished.

Feb 29, 2012, 6:24am Permalink
Tom Frew

I'm typically a pretty hard line person on this DWI stuff but in this particular case, considering the age, I'm with all of you. We all did dumb things in our youth, some just didn't get caught. I'm thankful I'm an old kodger and didn't have to go through that stage of my life under today's rules, I'll end the litergy right there!!

Feb 29, 2012, 10:16am Permalink
John Woodworth JR

Let’s hope she will learn from this experience and have remorse. We all have seen in today’s society where people try to convince themselves it was not their fault or things happen. Hopefully the Judge will show her some leniency and she will turn her life around in a positive way. Sometimes people have a hard time dealing with things and are consumed by the things that drove them to their problem in the first place. Good Luck MS. Greene and I hope you share your experience with others so, they can see the dark side of drinking and driving.

Feb 29, 2012, 3:02pm Permalink
John Woodworth JR

Doug and Tom it amazing when you think about that, we had the same peer pressure to drink, alcohol is still viewed as a party necessity, it was easier to obtained back then, plus age was lower, I do not know if the numbers of deaths are near the same (Correct me if I am wrong but, I do not notice any real significant difference in the number of reported alcohol related deaths of teens being greater than I hear today.)yet, here we are today with stricter laws and more public awareness and the problem still remains a big issue. I do believe that if, you can die for your country then you should be able to at least drink on post at the Enlisted or Officer's Clubs.

Feb 29, 2012, 3:17pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Maybe if there wasn't a drinking age at all, things would be better. I think there's a lot to be said about rebellious behaviors in teens and what they do to BE rebellious. Kids generally rebel by doing exactly what their parents and society have told them what they CAN'T do.

The drinking age for my era was 18 and all of us couldn't wait to be able to "legally" belly up to the bar and get plowed. The age didn't mean we were responsible enough to drink any more than a person is at age 21. I remember drinking before I was 18 and thinking how cool it was because it was illegal and I knew I could get into trouble for it if I got caught.

Other friends of mine allowed their kids to have a small glass of wine with their dinner right along with the adults and alcohol never became a big problem for those kids. How many 14 or 15 or 16 year old boys were allowed to have a beer with their pop when they went fishing (but don't tell your mom)?

I can remember being on a fishing trip in Algonquin Provincial park with my pop and his Canadian pals when I was 17. We were 25 miles into the park, fishing for the day was done, dinner had been eaten around the camp fire and we all sat around drinking hot toddies. I was "one of the boys" and it was a defining moment in my life. Not just because of the alcohol, but because I was included in something that they had been doing for over a decade together. Nobody got plastered but we were all comfortably buzzed and slept great, ready for another day on bodies of water that most people never get to see.

Maybe we're missing something in society now. I'm not saying that kids should be allowed to drink whenever they want but if they're taught rules and moderation at a younger age, maybe we wouldn't have the "taboo" problems that seem to be so pervasive. Maybe people will think I'm nuts but it actually makes sense to me.

Mar 1, 2012, 11:25am Permalink
John Woodworth JR

I think you are right. Two reason off the top of my head. My Grandpa allowed my cousins and me to drink under age. His rules were no swimming, walking out on the docks or operating any of his motor or row boats to include canoes and paddle boats. We never abused these rules. German society allows anyone who is tall enough to reach the bar to consume alcohol. I am sure they are taught rules to. Heck, it is not good to be stopped for DUI over there. They show no mercy! Understanding, rules and moderation like you stated makes a lot of sense.

Mar 1, 2012, 2:28pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

I have never understood the argument that removing the restrictions will de-stigmatize an activity resulting in more responsible exercise of it. Following that logic to it's natural conclusion would imply that no restrictions would equal no misbehavior.

Mar 1, 2012, 5:59pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Not at all, Jeff. I believe that "less" restrictions makes issues easier to control. All you have to do is look at what happened during prohibition. Alcohol was the drug to traffic because profitability was enormous. That profitability was generated by alcohol's illegality. Once it became legalized, we still had problems of alcohol abuse but it was easier to control and manage.

History should teach us what works but as the old saying goes "History repeats itself." The same mistakes are made over and over. For instance, there are people who honestly believe that the holocaust never happened and will steadfastly deny its existence. Even though there's irrefutable proof that it happened, to those people it never happened. How do we combat ignorance that holds everyone back from progress?

Mar 2, 2012, 6:16am Permalink

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