Letter to the editor: Criminal charges warranted in fatal crash

I disagree with District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli’s comments that the crash that killed Adam Garvin was an “unfortunate accident” and criminal charges other than mere traffic violations could not be filed on the man responsible, Thomas M. Sekelsky (“Scholarship set up to honor Plum motorcyclist who died in crash; family says justice system failed them,” April 27, TribLIVE).

Sekelsky consciously chose to run a stop sign, pulling out into the middle of two lanes of oncoming traffic. That was not accidental. He demonstrated intent when he stated he “gunned it” to try and beat the oncoming vehicle that he did see. That was not accidental. This is a clear case of willful negligence.

It could be argued he could not see the motorcyclist, but he still admittedly saw the vehicle traveling next to the motorcycle and chose to put lives in danger anyway. He was attempting to cross two lanes of traffic, and as taught in basic drivers’ education, we should always assume there could be a smaller vehicle on the other side of a larger one.

Regardless of other cases that set precedents, it is up to the DA to choose to prosecute or not. It would not have been a violation of prosecutorial discretion to file a charge of homicide by vehicle or involuntary manslaughter and let a jury decide this case.

Could this be a result of a newly elected Westmoreland County district attorney team not wanting to risk their reputation instead of doing what was morally the right thing?

Renee M. Garvin

Verona

The writer is the mother of Adam Garvin.