The pilgrimage of sorrow

This is a slightly altered version of the e-mail Daddy sent us all Monday, after he and Mama drove 2.5 hours to the place my brother died. Ms. C is the woman who hit Ben.

Dear Family,

You may or may not want to read all these details because some may upset you, but here they are:

Mom and I left at 8AM and drove via Highway 16 to Monticello, arriving around 10AM. It was a nasty day with drizzle all the way down, which added to the sadness of why we were making the trip. The secretary at the District Attorney's office was very nice and forewarned us that some of the pictures were graphic and might be disturbing.

The SKRT Team report was very thorough and contained a great deal of technical data on each vehicle (including a "black box" type module in the Ford Aerostar's air bag deployment system with a millisecond recording of wreck characteristics), detailed traffic citations and driving information on each driver (plus the court information on Ben's past run-ins), weather seasonalities for the area, topography, detailed measured and scaled drawings of the wreck site, copies of search warrants, reports of recorded statements by Ms. C and the witness, numerous photographs and other very detailed information. It took us about an hour to go through the report and there was much that we didn't understand, but in its entireity it confirmed that Ms. C was totally responsible for the wreck by failing to maintain her lane and causing the head on collision. The pictures did show Ben in his vehicle with his left elbow in the driver's window (like you would expect someone to be doing on a sunny day), his head forward on the airbag, appearing to be asleep. It was heartrending but peaceful looking even though the vehicle sustained tremendous damage primarily to the passenger's side. It was noted in the report that the equipment in his van played a significant role in his injuries.

The secretary said Ms. C was to be arraigned shortly and a court date would be set. She is being charged with Vehicular Homicide, a misdemeanor, and failure to maintain lane. There will be no jail time, we were told. We will be informed of the court date and the court is open to anyone who wishes to be present. We will pass this information on to you when we get it.

We initially went the wrong way on (the highway) but backtracked and located the spot where the accident happened. It was still marked with the highway patrol markings on the pavement. Mom and I took several pictures from various angles just for our own information. Interestingly enough, Mom found a pair of sunglasses in the debris left by the side of the road from the wreck. They may or may not have been part of the wreck itself, but it was ironic that Ms. C had told the Highway Patrol that she "might have been reaching into her glove box for sunglasses because it was a sunny day" even though she has no real recollection of the accident. Mom decided to leave them by the roadside where she found them.

We went by (the local newspaper) and picked up copies of the issue of November 8th which had a picture and write up about the wreck on the front page. We bought a copy for each of you.

Our trip home was uneventful and the weather cleared a bit with no rain. The report will be available "to our lawyer" after the court proceedings have concluded. I don't believe I want it myself. Call or E-mail me if you have any questions.

Love to all,

Dad