Dad killed by a elderly man who was on valium

[LynnKirk]

My dad was hit and killed by a elderly man, while retreiving his mail out of his mailbox. The police did not arrest this man, nor did they take his license. Witnesses and skid marks did show that the truck he was driving left the road and came onto my fathers property. We now need to write a letter to change the charges to vehicular homicide. Please advise on how this letter should be formatted.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Not sure what you mean? If you are writing a letter to complain about the lack of arrests, then you should probably send them certified return receipt and make sure that you state clearly the reason why you believe there was significant evidence to justify an arrest.

 

[LynnKirk]

Our attorney has informed us to write a letter to the District Attorney asking them to change the charges aganist this man. I just wanted to know how the letter should be formatted...

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm not aware of any official format. I would think it should be professional, as concise as possible while stating all the crucial facts that might change the DA's opinion, and delivered with some return receipt requested such as overnight delivery.

 

[LynnKirk]

Thank you..That is what I meant, I don't know how I would even start the letter. We need to make it clear that we want this man to pay for what he did to our father! So I guess a more personal letter would be appropriate ?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Probably, just my personal, humble opinion. State who you are but get right to the point as to why you believe that significant and manifestly clear evidence warranted an arrest and further investigation. While sympathy is pull, the bottom line is really whether or not the DA needs or should review this case again based on the evidence.

 

[LynnKirk]

What would be a reason why he would not want to review the case again?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The DA might review the case again just because of your passionate plea, but if you present a more compelling reason the DA may decide to investigate rather than just review the facts that are in the file... wouldn't you think? The DA can't just prosecute people because something bad happened but because it is reasonable to infer that a crime was committed. If the reports in the file indicate that there is no evidence that a crime was committed, I would think the investigation might stop there. But if you allege facts that are not contained in the reports, perhaps a closer look might need to be taken and another investigation warranted.

 

[LynnKirk]

I see...Well we did not understand in the beginning why nothing was done to this man. The police report states that he veered off of the road on-to my dads property. We just don't know why he was not charged. No one can tell us anything!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

They usually don't charge if there isn't enough evidence to warrant an arrest. Maybe they had evidence to show that the road was wet, this was an accident, etc. What you write does sound rather odd... let us know how things turn out!!!