MORE ABOUT ZACHARY GAUTHIER:
Zachary Gauthier has been charged in a tragic accident recently that claimed the lives of two 16 year olds and seriously injured Zachary, who was said to be driving.
Locally, there has been a lynch mob mentality developing, and such prejudicial behavior is disgusting, immoral, and unjust and also tends to pervert the course of justice. Zachary Gauthier has been wished dead and threatened repeatedly by multiple people, just on the Manitowoc Times Herald Reporter's website news story comment boards alone. Recall that he isn't even accused of doing anything with malicious intent.
As I've said, one of the worst parts of this public reaction is that people don't even have the alleged facts straight. One of the worst examples is probably this news outlet that has almost all the alleged facts backward: http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/lakeshore/gauthier-charged-for-role-in-car-crashes
Since that's the best professional journalists, who are supposed to check their sources, are willing to do, I think you are getting a fair idea of the prejudicial climate here.
It would be helpful for people who don't know him to recall that they don't know him. We crossed paths many times driving around Two Rivers and Manitowoc, and he was a very safe driver, doing the speed limit and nothing more, using turn signals and everything, better than most of the rest of the driving I see even from older folks. It was actually surprising, especially given his age, and so much so that I took notice of it right away. He came by the house quite a few times, and he never sped up to or away from it. That's difficult too, because I live on a very busy street in Two Rivers, and I have to take the time to back into my driveway, since the density of traffic is so bad that backing out isn't practical.
The public court records, available online, don't show anything similar to these alleged accidents in his past, just 1 speeding ticket for 6 miles an hour over the speed limit, and that being I think about a year and a half ago. That kind of thing is pretty common to all of us. The alleged behavior in these alleged accidents is anything but typical of this young man. And the three in the car that night were known by those who know them to have been friends.
Those who know Zachary Gauthier will tell you that he is a very generous, compassionate friend. He has been devastated by the loss of these friends of his, and while these are allegations at this point, even if they are true, anyone who thinks the loss of two friends in such a way would fail to teach a lesson nothing else could, to an extreme like nothing else could, is just not being honest. Like I said, it's not like this young man has a record for this kind of thing. And given the kind of person this young man is, it would be especially troubling for him. Perhaps a malicious person wouldn't care so much about this kind of thing, but he's not that type.
And there is a thing called contributory negligence. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contributory_negligence )
According to reports, seat belts were not worn by anyone in this tragic accident. If Zach Gauthier WAS driving, then it would seem that being able to hold on to the steering wheel allowed him to survive, so it would be clear that the dead would have survived had they only worn their seat belts. I'm sure the seatbelts are stronger that Zach's arms, and that's why the driver's seat in every car has a seatbelt. I believe the vehicle involved had airbags, and not wearing a seat belt is even worse in a vehicle with airbags, as the following article excerpt indicates:
"Drivers and front-seat passengers who have airbags but do not use seatbelts are much more likely to sustain a spinal injury in frontal crashes than drivers and front-seat passengers with airbags who do use seatbelts, according to a study by the Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Division of Spinal Surgery.
If you do not wear a seatbelt, the airbag can be a weapon, a source of injury. If you do wear a seatbelt, the airbag most likely will be helpful,” said study coauthor William F. Donaldson III, a Pitt associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and neurological surgery and chief of the Division of Spinal Surgery. “By not buckling your seatbelt, you increase the likelihood of a spinal fracture and spinal cord injury when your airbag deploys in a frontal collision.”
(http://www.chronicle.pitt.edu/media/pcc040719/seatbelt_airbag.html )
While contributory negligence may well be no defense to “2nd Degree Reckless Homicide” under Wisconsin State Law, that assumes a defense is needed in the first place. According to the specific law he is charged with violating, “Whoever recklessly causes the death of another human being is guilty of a Class D felony.” I understand that the word cause is an element that must be proven by the prosecutor, and it is alleged that Zachary Gauthier caused an accident that caused the deaths.
The plainest fact is, however, that this accident didn’t kill Zachary Gauthier. And allegedly, he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt either. Yet Zachary Gauthier is alive. It would, therefore, seem a simple prima facie observation that the accident didn’t kill Zachary Zahn or Chelsie Harding either. It would seem that the contributory negligence of Zachary Zahn and Chelsie Harding not wearing their seat belts did, especially since Zachary Gauthier survived without wearing his anyway. And contributory negligence is specifically allowed to be taken into consideration under Wisconsin state law, to wit: “The s. 939.14 rule that contributory negligence is not a defense to a crime does not prevent considering the victim's negligence in relation to causation. State v. Lohmeier, 205 Wis. 2d 183, 556 N.W.2d 90 (1996), 94-2187” (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/940/I/09/3?view=section )
Therefore, Zachary Gauthier simply did not cause the deaths of either Zachary Zahn or Chelsie Harding.
Consequently, I urgently request that the Manitowoc County District Attorney drop the charges against Zachary Gauthier.
Also, this is a VERY young man, and he has a baby daughter. It was an accident, with massive contributory negligence, and destroying and 18 year old’s life, as well as at least partially destroying his baby daughter's life by extension, isn't going to help anyone. It would be nice for the wounds to be able to heal, and adding to the tragedy by destroying this young man will help no one.
As I said above, I really very much wish the approach to this would be consequentially reconsidered by the Manitowoc County District Attorney. We have all made mistakes. The reconsideration seems especially fitting since it seems the most consequential mistakes were made by the two who tragically didn't wear their seat belts. Since people as young as 15½ are thought to be responsible enough such that they are allowed to be licensed to drive in the State of Wisconsin, it is clear they are old enough to be responsible for wearing their seat belts too.
Could, perhaps, a public service announcement "commercial" be made about this? That would allow lives to be saved, rather than ruining another life. That would, I imagine, be the best possible outcome for this. This was a tragic accident; shouldn't we turn it into something actually helpful rather than just adding to tragedy? That could actually SAVE lives.
And lastly, for perspective, pregnant 34-year-old Sharon Staples was murdered in Milwaukee in front of her 13 year old son during a robbery (http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/127240503.html ). This was a purse snatching and Sharon Staples resisted. According to the story, for that, she was murdered. THAT is what evil is. This tends to highlight the difference between that and this ACCIDENT.
It would be wonderful for the community to be able to respond to this in a positive, helpful and constructive way that could actually make a positive difference and even effectively save lives, which destroying this young man, (and, by extension, his daughter) won't do.
Can we just let the tragedy end?
