Stopping On A Highway For Ducklings Becomes A Criminal Offense?

She simply stopped on a highway to come to the aid of what looked like orphaned ducklings. But when a motorcycle ran into the rear of her car, killing the driver and his daughter, the humanitarian was charged and convicted of criminally negligent homicide. She faces up to 14 years in prison.

25-year-old Emma Czornobaj is an animal lover, and when she saw a group of ducklings fending for themselves on the side of the road, she was compelled to rescue them.  Unfortunately she stopped her car in the left lane of a provincial highway in Canada. The motorcyclist slammed into the rear of her car, killing him and his 16-year-old daughter.

The family of the victims said they just wanted to move on, but a jury of 12 voted unanimously to convict her. The prosecutor said, "What we hope is that a clear message is sent to society that we do not stop on the highway for animals. It's not worth it."

Not far from where I live, ducklings are crossing the road all the time. Just yesterday, there were about two dozen vehicles waiting for a long line of ducklings to cross from one side of Sweeney Street to another. If somehow someone was injured or killed because a driver stopped to let ducklings cross the road, I just can't imagine police writing a ticket or a prosecutor taking the case, but I guess you never know. Would it be different if it was an injured dog or horse? This ruling sounds like even that wouldn't matter.