Justice served....finally
Six years ago I was an Orientation Counselor for Washington State Unviersity's freshman orientation program. I actually met Scott that summer, as he was an OC as well. Early in June we were still in training getting ready for our first orientation session which was 2 weeks away. Late one evening, we all heard sirens, LOTS of sirens. (The building we lived in was across the street from the hospital). I didn't think much of it and went to sleep.
The next morning, we got the news. Three WSU students had been killed on the highway between Pullman and Moscow (our neighboring city). There were 3 others in the car that were seriously injured. One person had walked away from that car. Another WSU student, a son of one of the Criminal Justice Dept faculty, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
As university ambassadors, we were requested to attend the memorial service for the 3 students. That was one of the hardest days of my life. There is only one thing that I remember clearly from that service. The father of the female victim, Stacey, got up to talk about his daughter. He carried with him a purple box with a stuffed gecko on it. "Gecko," he told us, "was Stacey's camp name." We heard about how bright and cheerful she was. How much she loved her boyfriend who was also killed. Finally, he picked up the box. "This is all I have left of my daughter. She was unrecognizable and so we had her cremated. No father should ever have to bring his daughter home from college in a box." At this point he broke down weeping, as well as everyone else in the room.
The accused, Fred Russell, was charged and then released on bail, posted by his parents. He promptly fled town. Five years later, he was found, living in Ireland, under an alias. After a long extradition process he was returned to Washington, five years to the day since he fled.
The trial just wrapped up. He was found guilty. Sentencing will be in two weeks. When I heard the news, I almost cried. This has been a long 6 years for those of us who were around when the accident happened. It is hard for me to drive on that road anymore, and I prefer to take a less direct route because sometimes it is too much for me to handle. I can only hope that the victim's families and the survivors can all get some closure now.
The next morning, we got the news. Three WSU students had been killed on the highway between Pullman and Moscow (our neighboring city). There were 3 others in the car that were seriously injured. One person had walked away from that car. Another WSU student, a son of one of the Criminal Justice Dept faculty, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
As university ambassadors, we were requested to attend the memorial service for the 3 students. That was one of the hardest days of my life. There is only one thing that I remember clearly from that service. The father of the female victim, Stacey, got up to talk about his daughter. He carried with him a purple box with a stuffed gecko on it. "Gecko," he told us, "was Stacey's camp name." We heard about how bright and cheerful she was. How much she loved her boyfriend who was also killed. Finally, he picked up the box. "This is all I have left of my daughter. She was unrecognizable and so we had her cremated. No father should ever have to bring his daughter home from college in a box." At this point he broke down weeping, as well as everyone else in the room.
The accused, Fred Russell, was charged and then released on bail, posted by his parents. He promptly fled town. Five years later, he was found, living in Ireland, under an alias. After a long extradition process he was returned to Washington, five years to the day since he fled.
The trial just wrapped up. He was found guilty. Sentencing will be in two weeks. When I heard the news, I almost cried. This has been a long 6 years for those of us who were around when the accident happened. It is hard for me to drive on that road anymore, and I prefer to take a less direct route because sometimes it is too much for me to handle. I can only hope that the victim's families and the survivors can all get some closure now.