When Alicia Green borrowed a neighbor' s car without permission, the police merely gave her a warning  However, when Peter Foster did the same thing, he was charged with automobile theft  Peter came to the attention of the police because the car he was driving was hit by a speeding taxi  Alicia was stopped because the car she was driving had defective taillights  It is true that the car Peter took got damaged and the car Alicia took did not, but since it was the taxi that caused the damage this difference was not due to any difference in the blameworthiness of their behavior
Ttherefore Alicia should also have been charged with automobile theft
It illustrates a general principle on which the argument relies.