Dismissal of Charges- I was totally amazed at the expectations of Atty. Lope and his client, John Cartwright, when they went before the court to request that charges be dropped in relation to the fatal accident Mr. Cartwright was the cause of on Sept. 7, 2006 just outside the city limits of Zelienople. Atty. Lope's argument was that his client's actions did not constitute the standard for criminal activity. What is the definition of criminal activity when we are considering traffic violations?? "Criminal Negligence-the failure to use reasonable care to avoid consequences that threaten or harm the safety of the public and that are the forseeable outcome of acting in a particular manner"....."Homicide by Vehicle - death that results from the negligence operation of a vehicle or that results from driving while commiting an unlawful act that does not amount to a felony". "Vehicular Manslaughter - causing death of a human being, in other words a person caused an car accident and killed somebody. The term is used when a death results from any accident involving a moving vehicle of any type where deliberate gross negligence (speeding, wreckless driving etc.) is proven on the part of the driver. It includes striking a pedestrian, a biker, a person in another vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle at fault. If it is in connection with negligence (driver inattention or a minor speeidng offence and the offender does not have a prior record it is usually treated as a high class misdemeanor) if it is in connection with a DUI or DWI or occurs when another crime is being commited, it is always a priority felony charge."

When we look at Criminal Negligence - I would assert that Mr. Cartwright failed to use reasonable care to avoid consequences that would threaten harm to the safety of the public when he "disengaged his seatbelt" (by his own admission statement) in an attempt to retrieve "something" from the floor of his truck. Further, since he was in a construction zone - where he should have given his full attention to the road and traffic around him - I would further assert that the outcome of an accident would be a "forseeable consequence" of his action.

If I look at Homicide by Vehicle - death did result from Mr. Cartwright's negligent and unlawful actions while operating his vehicle in such an inattentive manner. Rowdy Conley Jr. was killed. In the state of PA it is LAW that your seatbelt be engaged properly while operating a vehicle. To purposfully disengage it is a violation - an unlawful act. To put your head below the line of vision (below his dash board line in this case - (his own statement of admission)while operating a vehile is a negligent act. Again, this all took place in a construction zone. I would also venture to say that crossing the double solid yellow line into the on coming lane of traffice and striking 3 motorcyclists, another passenger car and a power pole is an unlawful act.

When looking into Vehicular Manslaughter - again, the death of another person was caused by a moving car accident involving deliberate negligence of the driver at fault. Mr. Cartwright had to give thought as to whether or not to disengage his seatbelt while on the road or to wait until he could pull off the road to a safe place to retrieve the "something" he was trying to reach. He actually disengaged the seatbelt deliberately after he could not reach the "something" on the first attempt. During the second attempt is when he went across the yellow lines and hit Rowdy Conley head on. He deliberately left his eyes leave a position of seeing where he was going and caused the consequence of death to someone who had committed no infraction of the law. He not only cause death to one person, but also cause long standing injuries to two other motorists and property damage to many.

When the above actions and resulting charges are being considered, the driver's past driving history is supposed to be considered. This is often the way the court and charging officers determine as to whether to charge a driver with a "high class misdemeanor" or a "priority felony" charge. Chief Kellner and his investigating officers looked at these factors long and hard before charging Mr. Cartwright. To question the charges being dealt Mr. Cartwright is an insult to Chief Kellner and to these officers. The fact that Mr. Cartwright has at least 14 prior crashes, citations and 3 driving suspensions (some citations during suspension) shows his blantant disregard for the law and for the safety of others. It shows that his only concern is for his wants and convenience. It is my feeling that this many violations of the law are most certainly highly relevant considerations when charging someone with the death of another motorist.

I would like to know what the "something" was that Mr. Cartwright dropped on the floor of his truck. Was it really "something" that was so much more precious to him than my brother's life was to me? If he had not tried to retrieve whatever it was, would it have resulted in someone's death or serious injury?

I further would like to comment on the advertisement in the Butler Eagle of Randa Clark running for District Attorney. Ms. Clark in her statements she says that a "crashteam" has been instituted to improve the communication between investigating officers and the attorneys who prosecute vehicular death cases. I applaud this action and hope that it benefits officers such as Chief Kellner and his investigating team. I further noticed that one of Ms. Clark's goals is the improvement of service to the victims and their families during the prosecution of these cases. Our family, unfortunately, has not seen what we would consider to be good communication from the Victim's Program. I took it upon myself to call the Victim's Program on several occasions to inquire about scheduled hearings, meetings, etc. We received requests for "costs caused by the accident" the day before they were to be turned in. We wrote and asked that we be notified if there were any scheduled meetings or hearings. We've been given wrong dates and we've found out by "accident" that hearings were taking place. The March 16, 2007 consideration by the court of charge dismissal would have taken place without our knowledge if it had not been for my calling on Friday, March 17th to inquire about the March 19th meeting we were informed of in error.

My opinion may be a little jaundiced - Rowdy Conley was my brother and I miss him with all my heart - but it is my opinion that Mr. Cartwright has met the definitions of all the charges he has been charged with and deserves to stand trial on all of them. Further, he deserves a punishment equal to the devestation that he has brought upon my brother's wife and children and grandchildren. The pain he has caused me and my 5 other siblings and my 75 year old mother are not measurable. How can he not stand up like a man and accept the responsibility for what he has caused. He needs to get a backbone and accept the consequences of his actions.