I wonder if anyone else thought of the Firesign Theater album after
reading the article?
http://www.firesigntheatre.com/album...php?album=dctd

Dutch Woman Who Killed Thief to Be Tried
By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 27, 7:47 PM

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A woman who fatally crushed a teenager with her
car after he snatched her purse will be prosecuted, authorities said Friday.

The early 2005 incident assumed national importance and inflamed
tensions with the country's Moroccan community. The 19-year-old man came
from a Moroccan family and the filmmaker Theo van Gogh had been murdered
by a Muslim radical just two months earlier.

Some sympathized with the driver, believing she justifiably chased the
thief and killed him accidentally. But many in Amsterdam's Moroccan
community said the incident reflected Dutch disdain for them.

The story had many complexities, including the youth's criminal
background and the driver's record of reckless driving.

The woman, identified as Germaine C., 45, was in her car when the
teenager, identified as Ali el Bejjati, grabbed her purse from the back
seat and then hopped on a scooter driven by a friend, prosecutors said
Friday.

The woman chased them with her car in reverse and hit the scooter,
pinning the thief against a tree. He died on the spot. His accomplice
fled on foot.

The woman was arrested, interrogated and released several days later.

The prosecution said in a statement that formal charges would be filed
later, adding they could range from vehicular homicide to reckless driving.

The national broadcaster, NOS news, reported that the woman had told
police she wanted only to "bump" the scooter. It also reported she had
previously been cited for driving in reverse on a freeway.

El Bejjati had been convicted before of purse theft and was awaiting
trial on armed robbery charges when he died.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
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