The Truth About Aaron

Cathy, Patrick, and I are grateful BeckySchaefer, of the DeForest Times, chose journalism as a career and that she works for the DeForest Times.

Becky's article title The truth about Aaron, ran on the front page of the Thursday, April 13th edition of the paper. She presented the terrible events of May 10, 2005 with skill and compassion.

We were comfortable sharing the emotions of the day with Becky when she visited our home. Before we met, I had expected to not share all of the reports with her as I have a deep fear of reporters and editor's twisting and omitting facts or printing of partial quotes. (My brother-in-law likes the saying "Don't battle with people who buy ink by the gallon.") Becky put my fears to rest during our interview. In the end we gave her complete access to the file. Becky used the information to accurately portray the chaos of the afternoon last spring.

Families who live the loss of a child may have a common desire to keep the child alive in memory. We relate to that desire. To be more specific, I want my son Aaron to be a part of the world-community we live in, even if he can't continue to be a part of the community in person. Does that make sense? I think it's more than a desire that the person is not forgotten. I want Aaron to be a part of the community, if not the way other living persons are, at least in a way where he still makes a difference. As long as I am sending vibrations in this universe, I want Aaron to be doing the same. He earned the right to be remembered as the person he was, not what one or two persons thought he was.

Aaron's final day was mis-represented and his character trashed by persons who should have been trusted to be above grievous ignorance. I'm working on forgiving some people, but I'm not there yet.

An informed Sheriff Lt. would look at the scene and consider facts before passing judgment. Here are a few facts for the Dane County Sheriff's Department:

1.) http://www.roadtripamerica.com/DefensiveDriving/Rule33.htm No brake marks indicate the driver was going with what he knew about safe driving when the vehicle leaves the road. DO NOT BRAKE. I taught this rule to Aaron on a snowy day just months before he got his license when he was 16. In that experience, the vehicle left the road, went into a field and had plenty of room to come to rest without hitting any dangerous roadside structure.

2) http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts/teenagers.html 57% of 18 year old drivers killed in a car crash are not wearing seat belts. Not wearing a seat belt is not an indicator of intent, unless of course 57% of the 18 year olds killed while driving a car are killing themselves on purpose. Not wearing a seat belt is an indicator that the driver might be 18.

3) The speedometer is Aaron's truck goes from 0 to 100. In a crash the speedometer can drop to one side or the other and end up wherever it ends up. If it was at ZERO would they have assumed Aaron was going ZERO??? No. Then, a logical person would say 100 is not an indicator of 100 mph.

4) If you think the speedometer is an indicator of speed at time of collision, then ask yourself if the tachometer should be an indicator of RPM's at time of collision. If the RPM indicator is 2500 does that match with 100 mph in the vehicle? Obviously not. 2500 is the rpm's at 55-60 mph in Aaron's vehicle. Use logic. It works.

5) http://www.iihs.org/brochures/default.html Damage to a vehicle is a matter of simple physics. This is the formula for kinetic energy: (Weight x 1/2) (speed squared) = kinetic energy. The Lt., who's name I wish to be removed from my memory, from the Dane County Sheriff's Dept told me the damage to the vehicle and the amount of wall that was moved suggested to him the speed was 100 mph. The vehicle is designed to absorb the impact to protect the occupant. The front of the truck was crushed, as it should be by design, and the driver compartment was intact. At 100 mph the kinetic energy would increase exponentially and the truck and occupant would come apart. Remedial basic physics education for the Dane County Sherrif Lt. is in order.

6) http://www.csgnetwork.com/csgtsd.html A speed and distance converter is a handy tool to have in a squad car. If you disregard all else, and still think the lack of brake marks is an indicator of intent, tell me if you can recover from leaving the road, steer, and brake in 50 yards before hitting a concrete wall. A concrete wall, by the way which extends from 24 feet from the edge of the blacktop to over a hundred feet perpendicular to the highway. At 100 mph you cover 50 yards in 1.015 seconds. At 58 mph, you have 1.74 seconds. Less time than in took for you to read the last sentence.

7) Roadside booby traps. See the link in point number 2 above. Roadside hazards are more common than driver suicide. Every day drivers hit trees, machinery, signs,...maybe even walls erected for business purposes. As unusual as it seems to the Dane County Sheriff Lt, who unfortunately hustled over to Vinburn Road last May, it is uncommon for a crash into a roadside hazard to be intentional. Once Aaron left the road, the power line pole was directly in front of him. He did steer to the right and missed the pole by inches. The wall left him no way out. He could not turn left, momentum kept him going right. He could not turn right; the wall exetended far to his right. It looked like Aaron hit the wall straight on. He did. But not until he steered right, tried to steer left and had no room to maneuver. The tracks were clear, until the grass was mowed for some reason, a day after the crash.


Well, I'm done for today. What started off as a posting of gratitude is becoming laced with resentment and bitterness. I'm going to post this just as it is. Cathy came in a few minutes ago and said our neighbor stopped over to say she just read the paper and this is the first she heard that Aaron's death was accidental. Ahhhh!!

Thank you to all who read the article, for learning the truth, and remembering Aaron as a good and kind person who just wanted to live.

Peace,
Tom

This Easter weekend, Cathy, Patrick and I will remember Aaron in private. I will continue to work on my resentments.