A letter to Judge Christopher Munch

Dear Judge Christopher Munch

I just wanted to take a moment to write you regarding a case that you are currently residing over. On July 2nd 2006 I was out at a local bar enjoying the holiday weekend. Upon realizing that I may be to inebriated to drive home I decided to call my wife for a ride. She arrived to pick me up and we made our way home. About halfway there (name deleted due to pending trial) was driving the wrong way down Kipling between Jewel and Florida with a blood alcohol level in excess of .20. As this stretch of road sits on a long blind curve my wife had minimal time to react to this threat and a head on collision ensued. Luckily for me the Police were already chasing (name deleted due to pending trial) on this July 4th weekend drunk driving tirade. Because of the immediate police and medical response to this incident my life was spared. As the impact was more on the passenger side than the driver's side the crumpled car crushed and trapped my leg. My femur broke and severed a major artery in my leg. My shin bone was busted into three pieces, my right foot was totally crushed and was pierced with a sharp piece of metal that had broken off of my Jeep. My left foot was broken as were both my pelvic sockets and my hip in three places. After a team of talented doctors saved my life the determination had to be made if I would ever walk again.

Luckily my back was not broken so the idea of me walking again was looking very good. I stayed in the hospital for a little over a month. Once in the ICU and once in trauma unit I went into shock and my heart stopped from the intense pain that I was experiencing. I was anemic and could not breathe without the help of an oxygen tube. When I was eventually transferred to the Rehab unit I was so weak that I could barely sit up in the chair for more than a couple of minutes at a time. I often communicated during this time by writing on a notepad that I kept with me because I was to weak to talk.

Eventually I was deemed well enough to be transferred home but would spend another six weeks in a wheel chair before I could begin physical therapy to learn how to walk again with the assistance of a walker. During this time not only had I been racking up medical expenses that would eventually approach $200,000 but I had lost the ability to work and earn income. Income that my wife would normally be earning was also lost as she was forced to quit her job in order to stay at home and take care of me.

While these events were occurring and my wife and I were suffering intense hardships (name deleted due to pending trial) was out of jail on a bond the next day after the accident. As I was lying in a hospital in agonizing pain, He was out living his life anyway he saw fit. (name deleted due to pending trial)'s attorney is trying to show that sending him to jail for this crime would be a great disservice since (name deleted due to pending trial) has a wife and three children to support, one of which is a special needs child. The evidence against (name deleted due to pending trial) is so overwhelming that his lawyer will not even think about defending him outright. The time for (name deleted due to pending trial) to think about the welfare of his family was before he got drunk and drove his truck on July 2nd 2006, nearly killing my wife and I, not afterwards. Their family has a considerable amount of assets in the equity of their home with which they could easily use to settle the civil case with us and have enough money left over to survive on while (name deleted due to pending trial) is punished for his crime. There is no reason for him to be given work release instead of jail time. I believe that if (name deleted due to pending trial) is sentenced to anything less than the standard 2 years in jail for vehicular assault, that justice will not have been served. I urge you to give him the strongest sentence punishable by law. The hardships that the (name deleted due to pending trial) family is experiencing due to his negligence are extremely small compared to the hardships that my wife and I have suffered.

Currently I am walking with the help of a cane. I am working out daily in order to get my muscles stronger and trying desperately to get back to how things were before. I returned to work a couple of weeks ago, but the financial damage caused by this incident will effect my wife and I for years to come. Also I have aches and pains in my legs and back that, according to the doctors will be something that I will "have to live with for the rest of my life." Also the rods in my legs will be there for the rest of my life and it is very common for someone who has had their legs reconstructed in the manner that I have, to develop severe arthritis later in life. (name deleted due to pending trial)'s Lawyer would like to suggest that I wasn't hurt that badly, but the pictures of my hospital stay and a stack of medical bills over 8 inches thick will prove otherwise. So once again I would like to urge you at (name deleted due to pending trial)'s sentencing to give the maximum sentence in order to serve justice for the incredibly vicious crime that he has committed against my wife and I.

Thank you for your time