Posted on 02/22/2005 1:40:21 AM PST by csvset
As part of settlement, parents of drunk driver agree to move
By MICHELLE WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 22, 2005
Last updated: 11:39 PM
NORFOLK — Reminders of her son’s death lurk everywhere for Donna Chambers.
She cries at the grocery store when she sees Landon’s favorite kind of Pop-Tarts . More tears come at the mailbox when letters from colleges arrive addressed to him.
Sometimes, just driving through her neighborhood, she must pass the house of the drunken driver who killed her son.
But not for much longer.
As part of the settlement of the Chambers family’s lawsuits against Roy Lee Everett and his parents, Frank and Teresa Everett, the Everetts will sell their home and move out of the neighborhood where both families live.
“It’s just too close,” Chambers said last week. “That can’t happen soon enough for me.”
The Everetts have until April to move and until July to sell their house on Azalea Garden Road.
The families reached a settlement in December through mediation. The final orders in the lawsuits were entered in Norfolk Circuit Court last month.
Chambers’ son Landon, 16, died in a wreck in May 2003, when Roy Lee Everett crashed his pickup into the small car Landon rode in, driven by his older brother, Barney.
Everett, who had several previous DUI convictions, fled the scene but was stopped by people who saw the wreck. He was driving a truck owned by his mother, Teresa Everett.
Roy Lee Everett later pleaded guilty to DUI and involuntary manslaughter and is serving 14 years in prison.
State legislators toughened DUI laws for repeat offenders after Everett’s case and a series of other high-profile drunken driving wrecks.
The Chamberses sued Everett’s parents because they let him drive the truck even though they knew his license was suspended because of the prior drunken driving offenses, the lawsuits said. The truck he drove bore a fake inspection sticker.
The settlement calls for the Chamberses to receive limits from an insurance policy and $271,000 from Everett’s parents. In addition, the Everetts will pay for Landon’s funeral expenses and will make other payments to his younger brother, Kyle.
Allen Beasley, the attorney for Frank and Teresa Everett, said his clients thought the settlement was fair.
“It prevented both sides from having to talk about the case in court and re-experiencing the pain and anguish on both sides,” he said.
Donna Chambers struggled to keep her composure as she talked about her life since the wreck. Just looking at Landon’s picture made her cry.
“Our life has been a mess,” she said.
Landon had made all-star baseball teams and was always throwing a ball in the driveway, she said.
Now her youngest son, Kyle, won’t play baseball.
Landon had loved to look in her jewelry box at his grandfather’s wedding ring, given to Landon by his grandmother when her husband died. Landon had been named for him.
“He was very proud of that,” Chambers said. She buried her son with the ring.
Donna Chambers said she knows she can’t stay unhappy, that she has to move on for her sons.
The Everetts’ move will help, she said. But she still will return to a home without her son.
“We have a quiet house now, and it’s never been quiet, ever,” she said.
Reach Michelle Washington at 446-2287 or michelle.washington @pilotonline.com.
whats the matter, couldn't the court just kick them out of the country? < /sarcasim>
No kidding. Talk about wanting the world to get out of your way!
Having that family in the neighborhood is too much of a reminder, but getting checks in the mail regulary isn't? Interesting.
VA may as well go plug in with Mass, together they might might be able to apply enough suction to the hind ends of these liberal weaklings to prevent hemorrhoid troubles
After posting repeat DUI convictions, this man should never have been allowed to drive nor given access to a vehicle to drive, period. All the sarcasm in the world doesn't change that or the fact that he killed a 16 year old who had his entire life ahead of him.
I guess I could hate the (sober) driver responsible for the death of my son because that person was responsible for my son's death and admitted it to my face.
Unfortunately, the driver was my daughter, his sister.
How much worse should I try to make her feel than she already does?
If I did make her feel worse, how much better would I feel?
When you carry that kind of hate around, it does more damage to you than to the person you hate.
Bless you. I can't imagine......
Your post is what I love about this forum; immediate perspective. Not always delivered with the mountain of grace or wisdom palpable in your written word, however.
Blessings...
And why do you assume that the drunk driver in this case, who had multiple DUI convictions, was the least bit repentant ? Sparing his feelings is not an issue.
If its just seeing the house, well its still gonna be there and she is still gonna see it every time she drives by.
I think the city should demolish the house so this single resident can be appeased.
We've had pain and trauma in our house over the years and for about a year, we seriously considered moving just because it was so painful to live here... but we stayed and I'm glad and the place is filling up again with good memories. We all take our pain with us wherever we go.
Does seem a bit ironic, doesn't it....
I do have a question (and maybe that's what the newly "tougher" laws are suppose to address -
Why is it only "Manslaughter" when a drunk gets in a car/truck and kills somone, yet if I were to get drunk and get mad at someone and shoot them dead, it's Murder?
As far as I'm concerned - murder is murder. The drunk made the DECISION to drink in the first place, then drive fully knowing the risks (and being a multiple offender should be a clue here). In my mind, this drunk would be just as guilty of MURDER as any other criminal murderer - and thus subject to similar penalties (Life in Prison/Death Penalty).
That would be the logical choice for this woman is to move if its too hard to live there. She will always see the corner where it happened, the house where the driver lived and so on.
Well the parents were complicit in giving their drunken son access to their car even though they knew he was not legally allowed to drive. And the parents agreed to the terms of the settlement, they were not forced to leave the area.
However, someone who srunkenly fires a bullet at someone with whom they are angry, fully intends to cause that person harm.
It isn't murder if you don't intend harm.
My condolences to you and your family; you speak from the heart with a knowledge, authority and experience that few of us have and my heart goes out to you. Pardon me for saying it, but in this case, they're dealing with a repeat DUI offender who should never have been given access to drive another car; as I understand it, after multiple convictions he lived in his parents' house and was driving his parents' car. In my view, they share the guilt by not ensuring that he never got near one of their vehicles; this was not a first-timer. Moreover, this was the product of a civil suit settlement; his parents would have paid far more had they not agreed to move as a private contractual matter.
By that logic, I can just drive my vehicle around at any speed I wish, driving all over the road like a total crazy - and if I accidentally kill someone, It's not that big of a deal?
Let's say I decide to play chicken on the old highway with some old lady who really ticked me off with her driving. I'm planning to swerve at the last minute, but the old lady gets spooked and runs off the road and crashes into a culvert - killing her. That's MURDER - regardless of if my "intent" was to harm her. Is that ok too? Shucks, I didn't mean to hurt her....
I don't think so. A drunk driver DOES KNOW that EVERY TIME he/she takes to the wheel under the influence, they are risking their life and the life of others (we all take such responsibility while behind the wheel, but when we willingly put ourselves in a position to be FAR more dangerous, it's a CHOICE).
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