• Home
  • Posts
  • Tag cloud
  • Zach basics
  • Contact me

the report

  • Zach Stories

So far I’ve been reluctant to put up anything like progress reports on my efforts to understand what happened in Baton Rouge on the evening of November 14, 2015. Many people have asked me what I want. I’ve always felt, and I still do, that revenge is not the path to follow. Zach is dead & nothing can change that most important fact.

I am unhappy with almost everything the officials of Baton Rouge did – or more precisely didn’t do – in their investigation. Their conclusion that Zach was at fault for entering the street when he shouldn’t have makes me want to scream. Seemingly, everything hinges on the fact that Zach’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was measured at 0.125%. The driver had a BAC of 0 so he’s absolved, goes the narrative. Never mind that he was rat racing another guy to be first past the merge. He got a speeding ticket, BFD.

This subject did come up last weekend, at the breakfast in Grass Valley. Emily spoke very clearly about similar incidents that had come to the attention of she and Zach. She said Zach was willing to see all sides and was generally forgiving of the one most of us would see as the transgressor. Ashley echoed my feelings when she said that she thought the driver should be punished with something more than just a speeding ticket. I asked her specifically what & she said, ‘Prison time.’

Nancy & I both looked into civil suits. She wanted me to join with her but I declined. I consulted another lawyer who eventually got back to me and said the insurance was ‘only’ $15,000 & I would have to share that with my ex-wife. So evidently their M.O. is to jack up the insurance company. They’re not interested in real questions of responsibility.

I consulted yet another lawyer and said I would pay up front to have my questions answered. He sent me to an accident reconstruction specialist who essentially declined to take the job for a variety of technical reasons (he was at least nice enough to explain to me why). The lawyer also suggested that I contact the Baton Rouge District Attorney’s office. He said they generally very responsive to bereaved families.

So it has proven to be. I wrote a letter; they called me back. I wrote another letter because I hadn’t written down the name of the lawyer who called me; they called me back again. Both times I came away with the feeling that the lawyer in the DA’s office was sympathetic to my concerns and would make an honest effort at reviewing the investigation.

The title of this post comes from the interesting fact that the DA lawyer didn’t have a copy of the coroner ‘report’. I said I did and would send it to him, which I did this morning. I call it a ‘report’ because it is two sentences long. Reading it and trying to read the police report again gave me the impetus to write this post.

14th Ashley coroner District Attorney Emily that awful night Zach
July 24, 2016 Chris

Post navigation

more reaction → ← reaction

2 thoughts on “the report”

  1. Marney Salter says:
    July 24, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    Chris, your blog is amazing ! I hope you eventually get everything resolved over Zachs untimely death. So happy the kids got to see whales. We did too when we visited Half Moon Bay last week. Zach and Susan wee visiting and Susan was going crazy seeing whales. They have been in Kansas much too long.

    Reply
    1. Chris says:
      July 27, 2016 at 5:52 am

      Thanks Marney. I don’t think ‘resolved’ is the word I would use. It really happened; those of us still living must deal with it. This blog is helping to work out my feelings & I appreciate any and all feedback.

      Re: Kansas, how long is too long? A weekend? (Kidding!) I’m sorry I missed Zach and Susan.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Books
  • Family
  • Goals
  • Health
  • Life as we know it
  • Music
  • Nuts and bolts
  • Personal History
  • Politics
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Work
  • Zach Stories

Search

Copyright Notice

All content © 2016-2025
Christopher J. Wood
All Rights Reserved

July 2016
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Jun   Aug »

Archives

  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • February 2024
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • July 2023
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
Powered by WordPress | theme cats456