Highway Dispute Results In Death Of Jefferson County Man

This is terrible and makes me sick. Chris was my roommate our Freshman year. He was a good human being and loved his ilfe. Those responsible need to step forward and face the consequences instead of hiding in the shadows. Someone did it, and someone needs to pay the price for their actions. Chris had a bright future ahead of him. He will be missed.

Hopefully those responsible will be caught. I would like to think that everyone riding in the car does not agree with what the driver did and one of them will come forward.

Yes this is a true tragedy -- and yes those who played a part in this crime will be punished. However, it was a combination of a lot of bad choices by a lot of young individuals, including the victim! It is truly unfortunate for ALL involved! Terribly, terribly sad situation for all families! I'm sure if any of them had to do it all over again, this would never have happened! God bless them all!

The parties who are responsible have been questioned. I know them personally. They are all very good kids who are A students and high school athletes. Granted this was a horrible accident, they had no idea that he was even hurt until it was covered on the news. I agree that they need to face the consequesences of their actions, but please keep in mind that these are not delinquint kids. It was just a horrible accident that involved many bad judgement calls by all parties involved.

In my opinion, it does not matter whether these kids receive good grades in school or not. Regardless, they were not collectively smart enough to know that driving a vehicle with a human being on top of it is dangerous and could result in serious injuries or death. Their delayed response in taking accountability for their actions further demonstrates a total lack of responsibility. The bottom line is that a human life was lost because of the decision of another human being (primarily, the driver). The driver in the car had every opportunity to stop the vehicle at any moment. Instead, he CHOSE to drive for the approximate distance of a mile with this person on top of the car. We all face decisions in life, but we owe the other members of society the decency of making the right choice. In this case, these kids did not.

Tim wrote:

In my opinion, it does not matter whether these kids receive good grades in school or not. Regardless, they were not collectively smart enough to know that driving a vehicle with a human being on top of it is dangerous and could result in serious injuries or death. Their delayed response in taking accountability for their actions further demonstrates a total lack of responsibility. The bottom line is that a human life was lost because of the decision of another human being (primarily, the driver). The driver in the car had every opportunity to stop the vehicle at any moment. Instead, he CHOSE to drive for the approximate distance of a mile with this person on top of the car. We all face decisions in life, but we owe the other members of society the decency of making the right choice. In this case, these kids did not.

Exactly. Not only did he CHOSE to drive that distance, he CHOOSE to nearly run into Chris with the car, choose to let him stay on the roof, and choose to swerve, ultimately leading to his death. What did they expect to happen? Chris to get up and walk away laughing? They left him there to die on the corner, that's all there is to it. I hope this haunts those kids for the rest of their lives, even if it wasn't "on purpose." The fact that only 1 of the 4 kids spoke to the police further demonstrates the guiltiness of their crimes and their lack of responsiblity for their actions. I'm not denying that Chris may have been some at fault, but all of this could have been avoided had those kids just stopped their vehicle when he was on the roof. It upsets me to think that people will actually sympathize with these kids in this situation. I feel horrible for their families, but what the kids did was wrong and they should pay for their crime to the fullest extent of the law. Chris was a good friend of mine, and we shared a room together for a year. He was such a good human being.

I am in no way justifying what they did or saying that is was the right thing to do. There are 2 sides to every story, and here is what has been confirmed by the JCSD. The driver stated and witnesses have confirmed that Chris was attempting to get into the car through a window when the driver reversed to get away. Chris then jumped on the hood of the car. The driver drove forward at no more than 15mph (confirmed by Jefferson County PD) swerving and stopping in attempts to get Chris off of the hood. On one of the swerves, he fell off and they drove away, not realizing that he was injured.

Hearing about it on the news Tuesday morning, one of the boys called JCSD and told them that they were in the car. The other boys were at one house and were preparing to go to the JCSD to tell them what happened when they were arrested.

That is where it ends as of now. My only concern is that I do not want to see these boys go to prison for this. I agree that they should pay for what was done, but it will be with them for the rest of their lives. I seriously doubt if one day goes by that they do not think about this. I am sympathetic with those of you who knew the victim, but sending these boys to jail long term would be a huge loss. It would in effect be the loss of five lives.

First of all, what were the "very good" JUVENILES doing out driving at that time in the morning? Parents? Gee, I guess prison for murder isn't an option for juveniles. Oh I forget they're not responsible for their actions, or at least they are not held accountable. Did you know a juvenile can BURN your house down and get a slap on the hand and pay $125 in restitution and be on their way? Chris Dothage is gone, he's not going to get a do-over. If we, as parents, don't teach children to be responsible for their actions from little on up, these are the type of things that will continue to happen. This was not an "ACCIDENT" it was an intentional act that resulted in Chris' death! If everyone goes free, it teaches the other youth, that they can kill someone and get a slap on the wrist. Is that the kind of message you want your kids to learn???

Doris wrote:

First of all, what were the "very good" JUVENILES doing out driving at that time in the morning? Parents? Gee, I guess prison for murder isn't an option for juveniles. Oh I forget they're not responsible for their actions, or at least they are not held accountable. Did you know a juvenile can BURN your house down and get a slap on the hand and pay $125 in restitution and be on their way? Chris Dothage is gone, he's not going to get a do-over. If we, as parents, don't teach children to be responsible for their actions from little on up, these are the type of things that will continue to happen. This was not an "ACCIDENT" it was an intentional act that resulted in Chris' death! If everyone goes free, it teaches the other youth, that they can kill someone and get a slap on the wrist. Is that the kind of message you want your kids to learn???

I guess this is a prime example of why I no longer live in Jefferson County! I forgot about the type of people who reside there. I used to work in the school system there, and let me tell you that these boys do not come from parents that do not care. I would imagine that a college boy would be smart enough not to jump on top of a vehicle, but apparently not. I would also assume that a carload of college boys, especially those trained in military, would not participate in an argument with a carload of sixteen year olds. Here again however, I forgot the mentality of the people that I am dealing with. Thanks for reminding me.
I was told by one of the parents that only one of the boys is being charged, and that it will probably be as a juv. This boy was one of my students and he is one of the most responsible young men that I have taught. You do not find many of those around there. Most do come from parents who do not care where their children are or who they are with. This boys' were not like that. The whole situation is a tragedy and the media is contributing to that. Once the investigation is made public, I hope that you narrow minded individuals will realize that the only thing that was intentional here was the victim jumping onto the vehicle. But, like I wrote, previously, that is asking a lot for members of Jefferson County to be open minded about anything!

You did not answer the question as to why they were our after curfew, and if you think anyone is narrow minded because they feel someone DYING from an intentional act is a chargeable offense, then who is guilty of skewed thinking? I did not attack your opinion even though I think it is wrong, I did not classify you as a bleeding heart liberal, even though it appears to be the case. My view has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Jefferson County...I'm not from here originally. It has to do with the difference between right and wrong. What happened was WRONG anyway you look at it. A boy is dead and another is responsible for that death. Another thing, the school systems are allowing countless illegal acts to continue within their confines all over this area. Thieves vandals and druggies abound and the good kids just have to deal with it. Don't worry about it though, they haven't killed anyone, yet......

Doris wrote:

You did not answer the question as to why they were our after curfew, and if you think anyone is narrow minded because they feel someone DYING from an intentional act is a chargeable offense, then who is guilty of skewed thinking? I did not attack your opinion even though I think it is wrong, I did not classify you as a bleeding heart liberal, even though it appears to be the case. My view has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Jefferson County...I'm not from here originally. It has to do with the difference between right and wrong. What happened was WRONG anyway you look at it. A boy is dead and another is responsible for that death. Another thing, the school systems are allowing countless illegal acts to continue within their confines all over this area. Thieves vandals and druggies abound and the good kids just have to deal with it. Don't worry about it though, they haven't killed anyone, yet......

As for the curfew question, I cannot answer that. But I can say that the Jefferson County Sherriffs Department anounced this morning that Chris' blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit. They have also determined that he jumped onto the car from the side, and that he jumped off instead of being thrown off. This sheds a whole new light on the investigation. I guess that it could have been much worse if the vehicle that Chris was driving while intoxicated would have killed innocent people. It could have even been a relative or friend of someone reading this.

My thinking is not skewed, I simply am fortunate enough to have all of the facts that the general public does not. The press has done a very good job of creating one sided drama and leading people to beleive that this was done intentionally. I apologize if I have offended anyone, but it bothers me to hear that people actually think that this was intentional. If you only new this boy, you would think otherwise. Many of his other teachers have already written to the prosecuting attorney explaining that he is an extaordinary boy, and that this is very out of character. Family members of the other boys are telling me that the he is taking this very badly and is very upset that he inadvertently was involved in the death of another person. He has said that they were just trying to get away after the older boys threatened them with comments about them being able to kick their @$$&$ because they were in the military and tried getting into their vehicle.
This will be my last post, as I am getting too emotional about this whole situation. Please consider all sides of this event. Hopefully this will all be over with soon.

The press has skewed it? Lady, I work for a television station and trust me, there is NOTHING that has come out on the official wires that give justification to any of your claims about his BAC, details about the confrontation, how fast the cars were going, etc.. It sounds like your sources have come from simply "word of mouth" from sources of people who weren't even there. Why hasn't the Jefferson County Police released ANY of this info to the wires? There is no reason because such information does not exist. Our station interviewed the sheriff of Jefferson County, and he was a very open individual who was not afraid to spill the details about the accident, and he said NOTHING about ANY of your claims. Regardless of the "facts" you claim to be true, the boys committed manslaughter. A human life has been lost because of pure ignorance. And further, I do believe you need to practice what you preach and take a look at it from ANOTHER standpoint. If everything you claim is true, then you should probably contact the defendant's attorney to help those murderers get back on the streets in a timely fashion.

I went and got the paper, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. But nope, no mention of any BAC levels or speed levels or any so called "facts". Just that the juvenile was being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Too bad we can't have all the facts(like gk-bc), being the general public and all, you know. The possibility still exists that he could be charged as an adult if the judge so decides. I'll have to keep an eye on this one......

Doris wrote:

I went and got the paper, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. But nope, no mention of any BAC levels or speed levels or any so called "facts". Just that the juvenile was being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Too bad we can't have all the facts(like gk-bc), being the general public and all, you know. The possibility still exists that he could be charged as an adult if the judge so decides. I'll have to keep an eye on this one......

A 16-year old tried as an adult for the murder of an ROTC member? Oh the humanity and cruelty of our court system...
Put him away.

Good Kids Bad Choices

Narrow minded ? The type of people that live there ? Some nerve you have !!! You and your one sided facts. What did you expect to gain with your Jefferson County insults ? I for one do not fit your stereotypical mold. And if you think your extraordinary boy is the only greatness to come out of Jefferson County. A little FYI for you, I have raised two.

The paper gave very little in the facts department. Unlike you , I think I will wait for them before making an intelligent decision. It is quite obvious your source is coming from family members, of the party you do not wish to see severely punished. Speaking of narrow minded ?? I guess you do not think one should be held accountable for their actions. Is that what you teach children from Carmel IN.? It is apparent your teaching failed here.

Since you seem to be loaded down with facts from your extraordinary A students family.. Maybe you won’t mind answering a few questions I have……

1. What were 16 yr. old A students and extraordinary boys doing out joy riding at 1:45 a.m.? Prayer meeting ? I think not !

2. It stated in the paper that the other party’s car mirror was broken, but did not state that either car collided. So how did that mirror get broke ? Logic indicates to me that if the cars did not touch, something was being thrown at that vehicle. Were these A students throwing objects from their vehicle?

3. If these 16 yr old A students were scared of getting their asses kicked by college boys why would they leave 55 hwy and follow them to a remote subdivision off Miller, leaving the city limits of Arnold and into Jefferson County ? Not exactly a short distance for someone who’s scared of an ass kicking, they had plenty of options to turn around and /or call the police. But yet they followed them and pulled over ?

4. For whatever reason a man was on the hood of their car at 1:45 a.m. he lands in the middle of the Hwy. Not one of them calls the police or tells a parent ? Not exactly as responsible and intelligent as you seem to think !!

5. I would certainly be interested in the alcohol level of the 16 yr olds….. oh , but that’s right no one knew who they were until the next day. Were they drinking ? A little late to be tested don’t you think ?
One reason maybe that they didn’t call the police ?

Maybe you can quit insulting the mentality of Jefferson County citizens long enough to help your little darlings get out of trouble and back on the streets for their next late night out ! Hopefully it will not involve any members of my family !

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories...

(snip)
has been ordered held in juvenile custody pending a psychological and substance abuse evaluation.

Well ….well….look what we have here. Substance abuse evaluation ???

(snip)
Jefferson County sheriff's Lt. Tommy Wright says some witnesses told authorities that Dothage appeared to jump on the car in an effort to start a fight. Other witnesses said Dothage jumped on the car to avoid being hit by it.

A very important part. I sure hope someone finds out the truth.

Sherrie,
Good points! By the way, I think this program somehow assigns people locations, as you well know, I am not from Cottleville! I'm betting GKBC isn't from Indiana. I also don't think he/she will respond, you know, being so intellectually superior and all.....substance abuse....very interesting.

Sherry,
Exactly the things I was thinking, you just put them into words. Thanks and keep us up to date.

Hi there Doris, so glad to see you around !!
The Cottleville did throw me off a little, wasn’t sure. Well I’m not exactly from St. Louis either….but that is what came up. This incident is so horrible, and such a tragedy for all parties involved. I truly feel sorry for all of them and their families. Your right, one can only wish it was a do over.

Keep in touch, Have a wonderful holiday !!

Your welcome Kyle, My deepest sympathy to you for your loss !!
I will certainly try to keep you up to date.

Have a great day !!!!