When I was growing up in Louisville, KY, I would flip through The Courier-Journal and give only passing attention to the crime and mayhem stories.
Then, after graduating from college, I landed a job as a sports writer at a northern Kentucky newspaper. The editor had hired me after having me to his home for dinner, and the expectation was I would go into news after the sports editor returned from a medical leave of absence.
When I showed up for work that first morning, I was sitting at my desk, reading the paper, when the editor flew out of his glass-enclosed office and, with long, sharp strideseps, came directly to my desk. He tossed his copy of the paper on the desk and pointed to a short story about an accident in the locks of the Ohio River. A man’s boat had slammed violently against the walls of the locks, and the man had been killed.
“Get ahold of this guy!” the editor said in a half yell. “Find out everything you can about him. Get a picture and get the story!”
With that, he turned on his heel and went quickly back to his office.
I sat there stunned. My first thought was the curious phrasing the editor had used — “Get ahold of this guy.” My second thought was, “Oh, shit, what have I gotten myself into.”
I thought about how, if I’d been home in Louisville, I would have glanced at a story like that, reflected briefly on what a shame it was, and then casually turned the page. But sitting there at that desk in Covington, KY, I was being ordered to inject myself into the tragedy.
Within a few minutes, I was able to reach the man’s wife on the phone, and she agreed to let me come out to the house. When I got there, she was prostrate on a bed, weeping, in complete anguish. I apologized all over myself, and I will never forget how gracious she was, pulling herself together to give me the information I needed, and even — as we bid goodbye — addressing me by my first name. As I muttered a final apology, she said, “It’s okay, Jim.”
**
Since that day, I have had a totally different attitude about crime and mayhem. When reading stories about innocent victims losing their lives or being badly injured, I often try to put myself into their shoes at the time of the incident and think what they might have been thinking and feeling.
I try to put myself in the place of the victims’ loved ones — like the widow prostrate on the bed — and think about their anguish…I also think, every time, that it could have been me; could have been a family member; and how lucky I am (up to the present) it wasn’t me or a member of my family.
…We see and hear about an unbelievable amount of mayhem in our metropolitan area, and the normal tendency is to read it (or listen and watch) and move on. Turn the page.
But some of these cases cry out for our fixed attention, our empathy, even our prayers…if we’re so inclined.
Consider one such case…
:: The I-70 crash in Blue Springs that left two children dead, their father paralyzed and their mother with a life that has been scrambled and smashed.
Here’s what the Beaird family of Warrenton, MO, looked like before the Labor Day Weekend.
The two kids on either side of Mickey were 13-year-old son Gavin (left) and 7-year-old daughter Chloe. They’re both dead. David, the father and husband, is reportedly paralyzed from the chest down. Wife and mother Jennifer was also injured.
There’s another photo that complements this picture, and it isn’t a pretty one…
That’s 60-year-old James Green of Odessa, who — while drunk and playing with his cellphone — plowed his Cadillac Escalade into the rear of the Beairds’ Hyundai Elantra. The lives of Green and the Beairds intersected at 6:03 p.m. Labor Day on eastbound I-70 near Adams Dairy Parkway.
Here’s what a Cadillac Escalade looks like…
Green is now charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of assault and driving while intoxicated.
He was driving with a suspended driver’s license and had prior convictions for driving while intoxicated, according to court records. He told investigators he had drunk three beers about an hour before the wreck.
At the crime scene, Green complained of left-leg and chest pain.
…Now, here’s what you can say in a blog that you can’t say in the daily newspaper:
Green is a turd who didn’t have a life worth living, and in moments he killed two innocent children and dramatically and forever changed the lives of the children’s parents.
I’m glad Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker charged Green with two counts of murder, but I doubt she can make it stick. My understanding is that with any count of murder — capital, first-degree or second-degree — you have to prove intent to take a life.
Sadly, this turd Green may well end up being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. I have no idea how much time he’ll get, but chances are he’ll walk out of prison some day.
…The rest of us weren’t there, in cars on I-70, as James Green barreled eastbound on I-70, not paying a lick of attention to the traffic stopped or slowed before him. But put yourself in David Beaird’s seat that Labor Day afternoon.
I’m going to assume he was driving, probably taking the family back to Warrenton. From the circumstances, it sounds like traffic was either stopped or creeping along. Maybe David and the other family members didn’t know what hit them. Maybe — more likely — he glanced into the rearview mirror and saw a big SUV hurtling toward their Hyundai. The SUV wasn’t slowing down, and Beaird had nowhere to go. There’s was no escape. Death, mayhem and paralysis were on the way.
**
A “Go Fund Me” campaign has been launched to help David and Jennifer with funeral and medical expenses. Here’s the link.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
How the hell is this dirtball making enough money to drive a Cadillac Escalade? This story just shakes me to the core. And it pisses me off.
I didn’t realize it until just now, when I looked it up, but an Escalade is a full-size, luxury SUV. Damn good question — where he got the money for a car like that?
I don’t know whether to weep or be sick to my stomach from rage. This on the heels of the couple similarly killed on a Sunday morning just before they reached their church.
I am doing both
Here are a few ideas: Don’t allow dealers to sell cars, especially new ones to people with DUI convictions, especially multiples. That way, at least they will be forced to borrow someone else’s insured car, so when there is an accident, the loaner is penalized as well. Just like we don’t sell hunting licenses to deadbeat dads who are behind on their child support payments. Get their attention!!!
Also, I am no longer giving to gofundme’s to cover hospital expenses. Same with neighborhood car washes, concerts, lemonade stands, sporting appeals. Hospitals write those off, especially in case of a death.
I understand about hospitals, but funeral homes don’t do much writing off. The Beairds have got two kids to bury, and who knows when David will be able to go back to work — assuming he has a job.
The courts of Jackson County are notoriously lenient on cases involving alcohol, particularly of one can afford one of the better attorneys.
One thinks of Curtis Mertensmeyer, besotted son of a prominent Mission Hills lawyer, who hit and killed a pedestrian and then left the scene. He did 120 days “shock time”. In handing down this stringent sentence, the judge stated that had the pedestrian not been under the influence of alcohol he might have been better able to avoid victimizing poor Mr. Mertensmeyer by jumping out of the way. Seriously, look it up.
So lenient are the judges of Jackson County that they’re happy to even ignore the law in these cases (provided Mr Green makes his appearance?). Three Wheel Lokeman, one of your former colleagues refused to take a breathalyzer test after cruising around the downtown area on 3 wheels, presumably tanked to the gills, if the videos are to be believed. The initial judge was kind enough to ignore the law stating that her license should have been pulled for that refusal alone and that was followed up by reducing the charges to such a minor level that it was never even reported to the state.
The murder charges in this case are simply fodder to gain an easy plea arrangement (and perhaps raise the amount of the baksheesh contributed to the retirement accounts of the local legal “profession”). If this guy has any money at all (and the Escalade suggests he does since I believe they run around $60-80K) I’m betting he doesn’t do more than a couple of years, or perhaps another 120 days of shock time, if that, when they quietly plead it out in a year, or two. After all, I’m sure there was something this family neglected to do to avoid damaging Mr. Green’s fine Cadillac.
I’ll predict about 10 years in this case — five to seven for involuntary manslaughter and three to five for repeat DUIS and driving while suspended. The judge will make them consecutive — even the Jackson County judge.
…Now, if James Green happened to have a wife who happened to be editor of The Kansas City Star — Three-Wheel-Lokeman’s get-out-free card because she was (still is, I think) married to Mark Zieman — all bets would be off!
Something HAS to be done to toughen these laws. Now The Star reports the early morning death of a Johnson County deputy struck by a drunk driver while conducting a traffic stop. Hours earlier he had celebrated his four-year-old daughter’s birthday. WHAT is going on???
From the cases I’ve seen, money more than position seems to carry the day for the defendant. Judge Torrence (sp) also seems to be a common feature.
I saw that earlier. The way many people drive — peddle down, one hand on the phone, one on the wheel, eyes up and down — it worries me whenever I see an officer dealing with someone on the side of the road. One of the world’s most dangerous jobs. If it weren’t for them doing it, the roads would be even more dangerous.
What is going on? Narcissism.
Don’t catch your drift here, Tracy.
Somewhere you asked, What is going on here? The answer is: people who drive drunk, people who continue to, after multiple DUI’s, people who text while driving–are all major narcissists. NPF = Narcissist Personality Disorder. A largely untreatable brain condition. They want what they want, and don’t care about the impact on others.
Thanks, Tracy…Very good explanation — and theory. It sounds very plausible to me. How else to explain a guy be cruising along in his big, black SUV, dialing up some of his favorite tunes and not looking at the road — the highway! — for several seconds — and I mean several. It sounded from the reports like he might have been distracted for 15 or more seconds. Can you imagine not looking up for that long on I-70???? He definitely didn’t give a shit about anyone else’s well being and wasn’t too worried about his own. But he happened to be in his huge steel cocoon, which gave him a lot more protection than those he was closing in on.
Should, God forbid, he ever get his driving privileges back, I hope that family photo above is encased into the steering wheel of his car so that he is forced to look at it every day and be reminded of the family he destroyed.
That is brilliant, Mike!!! We need to start a campaign with legislators to require that for folks who are convicted of involuntary homicide with their vehicle. Anchors the reminder when they turn on the ignition. Sure, it devalues that vehicle. So what. They should have that. When one sells a home, you are required in most states to declare if anyone DIED THERE. Why not disclosing SOMEONE WAS KILLED BY THIS VEHICLE! Love your idea, Mike.
Thank you.
Better yet, restrict him to riding a motorcycle. That way if he screws up he is most likely to be the one to suffer.
Now John, you know that will not fly, legally. It’s not cruel, but it is unusual, and not all miscreants can ride a motorcycle, or qualify for the special license. More importantly, this switcheroo would not have the shaming effect!!! And financial consequence to the whole family if there is one.. Nor
would a drunk DO that–ride a motorcycle..
The more I think about Mike Rice’s idea, the more I like it. How about a medallion or ugly engraving put on the center of the driving wheel–listing ALL offenses committed with that vehicle, regardless of driver. DUI, multiple DUI’s, involuntary manslaughter, distracted driving. (I’d skip speeding–that’s more a warning. Let’s just document crimes and serious misdemeanors. And I like that photo idea VERY much.
And make it a further offense if they remove the medallion! Stiff financial fine for that when they are stopped and ticketed. Can only remove it when the car or truck is sold to a NON FAMILY MEMBER. The state could manage that–new title would come with permission to go to a shop and remove the Shame Medallion.
At what level should we launch this? State? Local? What’s our best shot, John? You have a sense of that.
It would have to be national. Any smaller political subdivision would make it impractical. State’s are responsible for titling vehicles and essentially you’re talking about a form of salvage title. That said, there is nothing to compel another state to recognize it any more than they would be forced to recognize a failed inspection report, so it would have to be national.