March 11th / 13th, 2011
"Anniversary of DUI Death Looms Large"
Often when speaking of fallen soldiers or policeman, we like to talk about
how the dead did not die in vain. Somehow it gives us comfort to know that
lessons can be learned, and future lives spared because of one unexpected
sacrifice. Unfortunately innocent victims of drunk drivers continue to die
in vain because lawmakers refuse to recognize felony death for what it
really is, and establish the kind of punishment it really deserves.
Four years ago this week, WXII anchor Tolly Carr went bar hopping with
friends from the TV station. Jeri Rowe of the Greensboro News & Record
reported that Carr, "did the classic pub crawl in downtown Winston-Salem (which
included) the Mellow Mushroom, Speakeasy Jazz, Sixth & Vine, Sounds on Burke,
and the Burke Street Pub". According to testimony, Carr's co-worker Fjona
Wilson saw Tolly drink 4 beers, 2 martinis, and a glass of wine. A
forensic toxicologist said Carr had consumed a total of 17 drinks at the five
bars. Still, Carr refused to take a cab home, and no one cared enough to take
his keys away from him. In fact, Wilson joined him as a passenger in his pickup
truck.
Only blocks away, young Casey Bokhoven was standing on the sidewalk across
from his home, waiting for his girlfriend. Casey was a chef at Forsyth
Country Club, and had just been accepted to the Culinary Institute of America.
He had a bright future ahead of him which was snuffed out when suddenly
Carr sped down the barricaded street, lost control of his truck which went
airborne, and struck Casey, dragging the young man's body along the pavement
until Carr slammed into some brick steps. As Rowe described it, "Bokhoven
was broken all over, tire tracks across his stomach...hit so hard that the
impact knocked him out of his shoes". When the case came to trial,
Bokhoven's brother Sean remarked that Casey's life was worth a $10 cab ride. For his
part in all of this, Carr was charged with felony death by vehicle, and
spent only 116 days in jail.
The high profile case should have been a wake-up call to state lawmakers,
who could have rewritten sentencing guidelines to allow for life in prison
when someone is murdered by a drunk driver. Instead, they did nothing. The
consequences of their inaction looms large. Last week former surgeon
Dwight Cook drew a light sentence for killing 20 year old Elena Shapiro while he
was driving drunk. Meanwhile, Becky and Chuck Kennedy await sentencing of
a woman who drove drunk and killed their daughter Emily. The grieving
parents are not hopeful of true justice. Becky told WXII's Craig Thomas, "No one
is held responsible. You kill someone, and as long as you do it while
you're drunk, you get out of it". Added Chuck Kennedy, "When you drink and
drive and you kill somebody, it is murder". Forsyth D.A. Jim O'Neil agrees, but
under current law, killers like Carr and Cook cannot be convicted of 2nd
degree murder unless prosecutors can prove that they acted with malice.
O'Neil is frustrated with state lawmakers. So are the families of Casey,
Emily, and Elena.
The truth is, nothing could be more malicious than driving drunk, and it
sickens me to think that people like Carr are walking the streets free as a
bird. It is also troublesome that we cannot effectively prosecute friends
and bartenders who enable drunk drivers. They are accessories to murder, and
should be treated as such. It's time for legislators, bar owners, drunks,
and friends of drunks, to act responsibly. Let's make sure that victims of
drunk drivers don't continue to die in vain.
|
