My Uncle's Trial

The TV media here has seemed to have the facts wrong, but it appears The Columbus Dispatch got the facts right. The TV media keeps reporting that my uncle plead guilty which is not the case. This resolution is good news for the family and I wanted to share with all the correct version of what really happened in case you've been watching the news and not reading the paper...

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/20/lfight.html?sid=101

Dad in crash-scene fight receives light sentence
Thursday, November 20, 2008 8:31 AM


The Columbus Dispatch
A frantic father who wrestled with a deputy sheriff at the scene of his son's fatal car crash was convicted yesterday of misconduct at an emergency scene.

Paul Carter, 47, of Orient, received a light sentence from Circleville Municipal Court Judge Gary Dumm, who imposed and suspended a $150 fine and ordered the payment of court costs.

Carter originally was charged with two counts of misconduct at an emergency scene, each carrying up to six months in jail, but plead no contest to one reduced charge potentially carrying up to 30 days.

Carter's 16-year-old son, Adam, died March 25 while driving to classes at Westfall High School. His car crossed the centerline and collided head on with a dump truck on London Road.

Paul Carter arrived as rescue crews worked to extricate Adam from his crushed car. Pickaway County deputies said he repeatedly attempted to shove past them and ended up wrestling with Sgt. Cory Bachnicki, who received minor injuries.

"It was a bad situation. It was going to be bad any way it went," Sheriff Dwight Radcliff said yesterday. "I'd rather anything else in the world would have happened."

-- Randy Ludlow rludlow@dispatch.com