This victim's impact statement a lesson for all
It's known by the clinical-sounding term: "Victim impact statement."
Those words belie the power and raw emotion they carry when they're read in court, usually at sentencing hearings by the victims of the crime that brought about the final attempt at justice.
It is the only chance for grieving people to face the perpetrator and describe the impact the crime had on their lives.
In the horrific case of the Aurora mom sentenced last week to 15 years for driving drunk and crashing her car - with eight teens crammed inside - into a utility pole in Oswego, there were seven victim impact statements read in court that day.
Veteran legal affairs reporter Christy Gutowski covered that trial. She's seen scores of victim impact statements read. But never one quite as compelling as that of Donna Dwyer, mother of 17-year-old Matthew Frank, one of five who died in the Feb. 11, 2007 crash.
Dwyer poured out her soul in court, sharing not just her overwhelming sense of loss, but how Matt's death has devastated her family, caused economic hardship and other turmoil. She pulled no punches as she described seeing the broken body of her son, on a slab at the morgue. And, as you'd expect, she had some stinging words for the woman convicted of the crime.
Here is just a small sampling of Dwyer's 10-page statement.
Who Matt was: "An easy baby - the kind that makes it OK to have more." He learned to ride a bike without training wheels by age 3. An amazingly compassionate child at an exceptionally early age. "In middle school, Matt would volunteer with the elderly residents at St. Patrick's in Naperville. He would be there every day in the summers," Dwyer wrote. "One of his teachers, who also volunteered there once in a while, had told me how one of the residents had told her 'that Matthew was in love with her.' The teachers asked her why she thought that, and the little old lady said, 'Well, every time I see him, he tells me how beautiful I am.' Matt would push her in her wheelchair to bingo and to get her hair done or to the cafeteria, as he did with many other residents. His time with them meant as much to Matt as it did to the residents."
Identifying the body: The coroner apologized for not being able to close Matt's eyes. His parents are led to the room where Matt's body is on a silver table. "His back is arched because it's broken, the right side of his face is completely crushed. He has what looks like a hole in his forehead, he still has glass in all the spikes of his hair," Dwyer said. "Then you see his eyes and you now know why the coroner was upset that she couldn't get his eyes to stay closed ... I had to look into my son's eyes and all I saw was fear, He looked so scared."
Impact on the family: "Whenever Matt's birthday or Feb. 11 comes around, we all run from each other. It's hard enough to deal with our own pain, much less to look at the pain of the ones we love. My daughter Kelsey had to deal with many cruel incidents. She would be sitting in class and kids would make car crash noises or cruel comments."
Dwyer's children had so much pain and anger. "Many times my kids would say, 'Mom, it's not my fault Matt died!'"
Material things: The expenses piled up as Dwyer couldn't face going back to work. The pain of living in "Matt's home" grew unbearable, and the family moved into an apartment.
To Sandra Vasquez, driver of the car: "I hope that someday you will realize the full extent of your own wrongdoing. I truly hope that for your sake, Sandra, and my own and all of our families, that you will learn something from this mess you have created for all of us. But please remember ... You Are Not The Victim Here!"
These excerpts paint only a fraction of the picture Donna Dwyer drew for everyone in court last week. If you ever, ever need a life lesson about the potential consequences of one's actions, please read her entire statement. There is a link to it above.
<div class="infoBox">
<h1>More Coverage</h1>
<div class="infoBoxContent">
<div class="infoArea">
<h2>Related documents</h2>
<ul class="morePdf">
<li><a href="/pdf/dwyer3.pdf">Donna Dwyer's victim impact statement</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>