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Presumably, trolley driver learned a lesson last night
By adamg on Sat, 05/09/2009 - 4:33pm
The Globe identifies the texting trolley driver as Aiden Quinn, 24, of Attleboro. On his MySpace page (now deleted, but you know how Google Cache is), he said he's originally from Quincy and wrote:
I'm a chill, hardworking and down to earth guy. I believe there is a lesson to be learned in everything, and everything happens for a reason. I'm very spirtitual, but not religous. Just trying to get myself grounded. I know who I am and what I want from life. There is alot to be said of the life of others, I try to take in a little bit of everything from all the cultures. Just trying to keep the positive influnces in my life, and cut off the rest.
Among his favorite movies: Crash.
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Comments
"Among his favorite movies:
"Among his favorite movies: Crash."
ZING
hmmm....
Just doing some googling to see what this guy hasn't canceled yet, and came upon this: http://www.outsmack.com/component/option,com_compr...
Same guy?
I wouldn't think so, since
I wouldn't think so, since the press says he was texting his girlfriend, and this seems to be a 'coming out' site. However, nothing would surprise me anymore.
Did you look at the site?
Yes, same myspace name as the myspace that Adam cited.
His profile on outsmack lists him as straight and FTM. And having a girlfriend. So yes, seems like the same guy.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
He's transgender!
Do a little more research.
He/She/It was born female and named "Georgia"
Transgender. Which explains the coming out site.
I myself am gay and have no problem with transgendered people, in fact my own primary care physician is now a woman. (Dr. Deborah Bershel) I just think biologically... Aiden... is still a she.
Regardless of one's sexual preference, or gender identity, you cannot change that fact that idiocy played a large role in this accident. Text messaging while operating VERY heavy machinery with other people's lives at stake? Shame on Aiden, and SHAME on the MBTA for putting such a junior operator with clearly poor judgement skills in control of a trolley.
This is all great gossip...
This is all great gossip... not sure what it all has to do with the problem at hand... texting while driving heavy machinery lol
Could be
If his MySpace handle is aidenq, then it's the same guy.
You're right, it's the same
You're right, it's the same guy. Just saw his photo on WBZ's site. Y'know, I can't even believe that it's come to the point that we're able to deduce a MBTA operator's sexual preferences immediately after a crash caused by said operator's need to text. Too much information can be a bad thing. The internet would've saved J. Edgar Hoover a lot of time. If I'm reading this right, the operator is transgendered, a pharma tech and married too? Huh? Weird.
Maybe he's recently divorced
'Cause he was supposedly texting his girlfriend when the accident occurred, right?
/snark
Sigh. I have a sinking
Sigh. I have a sinking feeling the Herald posters will have a field day with this. Can't help but feel for this guy, even though he did something incredibly dumb.
Could be a terminology thing
A lot of people in the queer community use spouse/partner/girlfriend interchangeably, since many of us don't really place a lot of value on whether people are legally married. Our society also is really focused around legal marriage, so there's kind of not really a category for straight people either who choose not to get legally married. They're not going to call themselves "single" when they have a long-term partner, but some might not want to call themselves "married" since some people who really care about whether there's a marriage certificate might find this to be dishonest.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
I doubt it
Looks like him, but I don't think someone works for the T and is a pharmasist on the side lol
$30,000 salary
The Globe story reports that this guy earned a $30,000 base salary.
For all the talk we hear about government waste and overpaid public servants, I think this is an awfully modest salary to pay someone in a position that requires quite a bit of trust.
I'm going to guess that learning how to drive a trolley isn't the very hardest thing in the world, but operating one in a safe, dependable, efficient manner requires a consistently attentive and responsible individual.
But for 30k, you know what you may get? An immature 24-year-old who doesn't understand what can happen when you're texting away as you're driving a subway train with dozens if not hundreds of people aboard.
Excellent point
I wouldn't say that you necessarily get someone not up to the job, but that pay level sure doesn't sound commensurate with the responsibility of driving a train.
Clang, clang, clang went the trolley...
2 years on the T at the age of 24. Eligible for a nice pension by the age of 42. That 30G is going to increase quickly. So my question is who in his family is politically wired to the T or the union? Just askin'. A lot of people would be very happy with $30G and full benefits.
30 Grand, Full Benefits ...
... and you don't need 100G in student loans to get the job.
30 grand goes a lot further that way.
There is a waiting list to
There is a waiting list to get these jobs, its not like the HR department is sitting around waiting for people to apply for these jobs.
If people are concerned about those making 30,000 a year doing things that could put the public in harms way they should close their eyes when walking down the street because they wouldn't believe how many people making less then 45,000 a year operate machinery or cranes or trucks every single day.Not to mention the people that serve/cook your food every day!
Oh yeah
No student debt. Plus a few extra work years to build up savings towards a house down-payment.
Give him credit for one thing
It would seem that he was very straightforward with officials as to the cause of the accident even though it's going to cost him a lot. It took a lot for him to own up to his stupidity instead of blaming the track conditions, signals, or some other nonsense. I'll give him that much...at least he is an honest screw-up.
true true
the next time i need a stupid 20-something to come screw something up for me and then be the whipping boy, i'll know exactly the guy to ask for.
and yet i have to grudgingly agree that he did the right thing but also regret that we have not as a society evolved very sophisticated systems for dealing with these kinds of conflicting circumstances in which someone did something wrong but then demonstrates plainly that our collective response to what happened may need to take on a different character than some habitual pattern that might be unthinkingly assumed...
kinda offtopic yet similar point that bugs the crap out of me: A soldier serves a couple of years, ably and honorably, risks his/her life 24 hours a day, probably saves a few people along the way... and then just cannot go another day, runs/bolts/flees/begs to be let out... i've seen people come down so hard on these poor people -- the detractors seem to include many who have never served a day in a war, or even in the military at all. I haven't done either of those things, but I also could never consider erasing that kind of service record because of something that happened as a direct /consequence/ of that service
Here's another one: we seem to come down really hard one smoeone who's hungry and tells a lie to get food or money. but we give food and money to the poor, so they don't starve.
anyway, just feeling philosophical tonight. we are strangely wired. i think sometimes it gets in the way of the progress of what is sometimes called "humanity".
just let him go
The right thing is to terminate the guy -- this was, after all, a screw up of monumental proportions -- and to let him fade into whatever obscurity is available to him after having his name published.
I don't see the need to prosecute him criminally. No one died, and it does not appear that anyone was gravely injured. Yup, his mistake will cost the public millions, but it wasn't intentional and, in any event, there are plenty of others whose incompetence and shenanigans (SEE: Big Dig) are costing us a lot more while they walk around free.
Because there were no fatalities, we get to treat this as a giant warning message at a time when so many people are caught up in their cell phones instead of paying attention to the task at hand. It's amazing, and for some of us downright disturbing, how these little gadgets exert such power over people's lives.
Is there a myspace or
Is there a myspace or facebook bio that doesn't have a variation of this line in it?
"Just trying to keep the positive influnces in my life, and cut off the rest."
You're all the same!
Sure, sure.
Sure it happened for a reason: downright carelessness and stupidity.
Aiden Quinn?
Wasn't he in "Desperately Seeking Susan?"
Go and Google it, you gossip whores, and scavangers of human misery.
BAN BLOGS AND TWITTER!
Are you being snarky, anon(not verified)?
If you're being snarky, that's one thing.
If not, then I've got a hunch that it's not the same Aidan Quinn (lol)
Just great...
Leave it to a lawyer to turn an honest man into a little bitch.
Blaming it on the lawyers??
That's ridiculous.
LOL
Take it up with the NTSB, I'm just reporting what I read.
um, what rock have you been
um, what rock have you been living under? Even if your 100 percent innocent at this point in the investigation your better off staying mum about it.
Professing innocence now
Here's the thing. Quinn was willing to speak up initially to investigators. He knew he screwed up and was owning up to his responsibility. That was somewhat honorable and I recognized that above and hoped people saw that as a a good character trait. But once he got a lawyer, he dummied up. Of *course* that's what the lawyer will tell you. "Hey, don't worry, we'll figure out how to put the system on trial and get you off scot-free!" But seriously, has anyone ever just tried dealing with the truth of the matter? There's still value in honor and I think that'd be something worth taking into account if there's any sentencing to be done. But instead, today's default technique is to heighten animosity between the two sides of the discussion going with an all-or-nothing defense (when we close up tighter than a quahog, we'll either win because they can't prove anything or we'll lose because they didn't need my help and they'll throw the book at me for being extremely difficult). Quinn knows what he did wrong. He's admitted as much already. It's a shame he's basically closed the door to amelioration for the damage caused and now changes to the "Prove it! I dare ya!" approach. If he's going to be difficult, then I hope they railroad him...again.
Im sorry but the system, the
Im sorry but the system, the way it is now, is what is broken. I do not blame the guy. After all he has all of these injured people, and the MBTA, and the economy sucks. At the end of the day he needs to look out for himself, and that is what lawyers are for. He screwed up, royally, big time, whoa boy what a screw up, but it was not malicious, it was an accident, we used to have accidents, now the legal system does not seem to be believe in them anymore. Sometime it is like your either innocent or guilty. When faced with those choices the only sane thing to do is try to get as close to innocent as you can so you dont get run up a flag pole.
Talk about honor all you want, but lets put ourselves in his place for a moment, its very easy to just assume you would do the right thing all the time... of course you would never text while driving... of course you would fess up... of course you would make it all right by the injured... of course you would waive any rights to a lawyer you have. These assumptions become much less solid as soon as your on the other side of that table.
So, a broken system excuses the guy??
Frankly, ShadyMilkMan, I have less and less sympathy for people who make irresponsible choices and not only wreck their own lives but make other people pay for their stupidity .
Im not defending him, Im
Im not defending him, Im just saying it makes sense he would shut his mouth about it. Who made you the judge, jury, executioner, Governor, Legislative Branch, and this guys mother?
Ha Ha ha
This:
is laughable.
I like you, man
But that's a poor choice of words.